By Thomas Gerbasi
As one of the founders of the legendary punk band Dropkick Murphys, Ken Casey knows what the people want. Not the folks in the stadium suites or the ones with the VIP pass, but the real folks, the ones in the pit for a gig or in the cheap seats at a sporting event. So when he started up his own boxing promotional company, Murphys Boxing, you pretty much knew what he was bringing to the table – real fights, real fighters, and a shot for the underdog to make it.
It should be boxing’s magic formula, but few want to go that route. Casey has never followed the lead of other’s though, and while both the music business and the fight game sit in treacherous waters at times, the 45-year-old New Englander believes he can swim in both.
“The parallels between music and boxing are identical, so if you’ve got one figured out, it’s easy to figure out the next,” he said. “Look at (adviser to the stars) Al Haymon; he was a music promoter in his early days. You gotta put asses in the seats and get people to watch, and you’re only as good as your popularity when it boils down to it. There are a lot of guys that are great fighters who may never get the chance. Maybe they don’t get a break, they don’t grasp the promotional side of things or maybe they’re just boring to watch. By the same token, there are a million more musicians that are a lot more talented than I’ll ever be, but you have to put yourself in the right place at the right time and promote yourself.”
Known for their “everyman” anthems and unforgettable live shows, the Murphys have also had a unique connection with the fight game, with “Shippin’ Up to Boston” a staple as fighters’ walkout music, “The Warrior’s Code” being about New England favorite Micky Ward, and even their version of “Amazing Grace” finding its way into fight gyms and venues. That’s a connection Casey doesn’t take lightly.
“Aside from people coming into the ring to our music, which is a total awesome compliment and we’re thrilled with that, but if I had a nickel for every time someone said ‘I listen to your music when I train,’ that’s almost more of a compliment because that’s what’s getting guys through it and getting them to take it to the next level,” he said. “I think the nature of the music – high intensity, bagpipes – it’s motivational to a degree, so I think it’s a match made in heaven.”
Casey and the boxing business is getting to that point as well. Initially brought into the game due to his friendship with local prospect Danny O’Connor, Casey’s involvement progressed into starting Murphys Boxing and putting on shows, with the latest being an event tonight at Memorial Hall in Plymouth, Massachusetts headlined by O’Connor and, due to Casey’s association with Golden Boy Promotions, airing on FOX Sports 1. It’s a win all around in a lot of ways. The fighters get valuable national exposure, the New England scene gets a jolt of energy, and Casey gets to do what he set out to do, which is give local guys a chance. And anyone in boxing knows that if you grow the sport on the grass roots level, it’s good for everyone. But it takes someone willing to take a risk to light that fire.
“It’s like music,” Casey explains. “The fighters never went away. When the band started, I used to promote shows locally at the old club The Rat in Kenmore Square, and it takes someone to kinda take charge and call other bands and say ‘you gotta come to our city.’ So sometimes a boxing scene or a music scene can flourish only as much as the people who are putting on the shows, and I think people are just grateful to have more and more fights going on. I think that I’ve definitely taken that approach that it’s gotta be a show. Sometimes local fights are just in a gym and the lights never go down. We’re trying to give everyone that experience like they’re at a big time fight, even if it’s not in Vegas or Atlantic City. And I also think people are excited to see boxing coming back to the cities, and that’s what I love about Golden Boy. I know the casinos might be more profitable for people to go to, but fighters aren’t coming out of the woods in Ledyard, Connecticut. They’re coming out of cities like Boston and New York and New Haven and Providence, and you don’t want to make it a two and a half, three-hour ride to go see a fight.”
As for Boston’s place on the boxing landscape as a fight town, Casey considers it right up there with the best around.
“It’s like any east coast city, and much like New York or Philadelphia, they love their boxing,” he said. “I think there is that affinity for the guy that’s the underdog like Micky was, with the heart and the spirit. Red Sox fans love the Dustin Pedroias and the dirt dogs that are the scrappy players. Or if you look at the affinity the town still has for the mid and late 70s big bad Bruins, and that style of lunchpail hockey. It’s who we are and what we love. I don’t think we’re the only city like that, but I definitely think we’re like that and a boxer epitomizes that mentality.”
But man, Ken, the music business has enough of a rough reputation. Why get into the boxing business too?
“I’m a glutton for punishment,” he laughs. “In reality, I’m almost not in the business end of it. I am, but the way I got into this is the friendship with Danny O’Connor and now with (middleweight prospect) Mark De Luca, and it’s really more so fighter first, business last, and that might be to the detriment of my wallet sometimes (Laughs), but there’s still a lot of fun in it. We’re only doing four to six shows a year and it’s fun. Are there points in time where I say, man, I just got off the road and I want to be at my kid’s hockey game and not out doing some promotion for a fight? Of course, but life is balance, and it never really winds up just the way you want it. But the reward, to watch guys get their chance, is definitely worth the effort.”
