THE FACE OF BOXING Law and Order Nisa Rodriguez and Tiara Brown Photographs by Wojtek Urbanek • Text by Thomas Hauser V ery few active fighters have been police officers. A cynic might say that those who served on the front lines of law enforcement have been outnumbered by fighters on the opposite side of the law.
Tunney Hunsaker is the name that first comes to mind when remembering police officers who fought. Hunsaker was the police chief in Fayetteville, West Virginia, when he was tapped as the opponent for Cassius Clay’s pro debut. Cumbersome and slow, he lost a six-round decision and, three decades later, told this writer, “I’m honored, highly honored, to have been the first person Muhammad Ali fought in his professional career. The kids here know who Muhammad Ali is, so they know who I am too.” Light heavyweight great Bob Foster (who went up in weight and was knocked out by Ali and Joe Frazier) was a deputy sheriff in Albuquerque late in his ring career. Ricky Frazier was a New York City cop when he was KO’d by Roy Jones. Journeyman Lorenzo Boyd (who suffered stoppages at the hands of Mike Tyson, Tommy Morrison, Trevor Berbick and Tyrell Biggs among his 55 losses) was a police officer in Oklahoma. Philadelphia lightweight Tyrone Crawley and New York City club fighter Tony Gagliardo were also cops. Suffolk County policeman Alex Vargas is currently undefeated in the junior welterweight ranks. That brings us to Nisa Rodriguez (pictured left) and Tiara Brown (pictured right) – two women who have fought professionally while serving as police officers. Rodriguez, age 34, spent eight years with the New York City Board of Education as a gym teacher and coach for after-school sports. Three years ago, she transitioned to law enforcement. She now works for the New York City Police Department’s Rapid Response Unit, which provides assistance to adolescents whose family members have been the victims of homicide and other serious assaults. As of this writing, Nisa fights at super middleweight and has a 3-0 (1 KO) ring record. Her husband had some amateur fights when he was young. Tempting fate, they
spar together. Brown, 36, was a police officer in Washington, D.C., during the early years of her ring career before resigning from the force and moving to Florida, where she joined the Fort Myers Police Department. On March 22, she journeyed to Sydney, Australia, and raised her ledger to 19-0 (11 KOs) when she decisioned Skye Nicolson to claim the WBC featherweight title. Score one for law enforcement.
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