[Previous entry: "Fighters “Macho” Miguel Hernandez and Al “Speedy” Gonzales Sound Off on Chicago Boxing and Opportunities!"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Lopez Puts IBA Middleweight Title on the Line in Tucson January 6th!"]
12/26/2004 Archived Entry: "New boxing czar promises to be steadfast"
OREGON: NEW BOXING CZAR PROMISES TO BE STEADFAST
Brad Darcy replaces Jim Cassidy, fired for being lax with rules
By JASON VONDERSMITH
The Portland Tribune, Fri, Dec 24, 2004------------------------------------------------------------------------ Brad Darcy, the new Oregon State Boxing and Wrestling Commission executive director, says he doesn’t “have designs on making a dramatic change” in his new post. Simply, he’ll be steadfast in adhering to regulations and administrative rules, after the previous director, Jim Cassidy, lost his job last summer for being lax with them. “I want to reflect statutes and rules, but be open and user-friendly,” says Darcy, 38, formerly with the Siletz Tribal Gaming Commission and Chinook Winds Casino Resort, where as special events manager he ran boxing shows. Cassidy mishandled a 2003 event in Pendleton, and a subsequent Oregon State Police review exposed a number of administration problems. Darcy says he has the mandate to regulate the business and not so much to court the promoters. Other than in Indian casinos, which have their own commissions, there are few boxing shows in Oregon each year. More and more mixed martial arts shows are being held, the next being the latest Sportfight on Jan. 8 at Mt. Hood Community College. Darcy also will oversee World Wrestling Entertainment shows. Proper bonding, doing due diligence on promoters and protecting fighters’ health and integrity will be paramount, he says.
Boxing “can create a sense of urgency that’s hard to duplicate elsewhere — ‘the show must go on.’ I see the pressure on the promoter and regulator, and my goal is to be as proactive as I can be and minimize the variables to not have urgency,” he says. “It comes down to clear communication.” Hired in early December, he will make nearly $47,000 per year. Darcy was not a boxer himself. Whereas his father and grandfather followed boxing, Darcy played some football and wrestled while growing up in Coos Bay and graduated from Marshfield High in 1984. He worked in forestry until completing his degree in political science at Oregon State in 1991. “I studied government, and it’s where I was pointing,” says Darcy. He served an internship as a legislative assistant in Salem, and was working with the Bureau of Land Management when the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz began to set up its gaming commission. A tribal member himself, Darcy worked in casino and gaming, starting in April 1995. Eventually, he got involved in boxing when the Siletz started an athletic commission. “It seemed like a great opportunity on a number of levels,” says Darcy, who lives in Salem, of the boxing commission position. He adds that “casino work was frenetic,” and the pace at his new job will be much different. It’s government, after all. “The people involved get a clean slate with me.”
