Hawai'i boxing gets its first woman boss
By Ferd Lewis
Advertiser Staff Writer
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But when an acquaintance said, " 'What's this I hear about you taking over the boxing commission?' " Kamioka said she did a double-take. " 'I said, 'No way.' I kind of laughed it off and let it go. I said, 'It'll never happen.' "
Six months later, as the first woman executive officer in the 74-year history of the Hawai'i State Boxing Commission, she is too busy preparing to administer her first professional show — the April 15 Brian Viloria card at the Sheraton Waikiki Hawai'i Ballroom — to do much more than chuckle at the irony.
"This was something I never imagined," Kamioka said.
"Women in this sort of a position are still fairly rare," said Tim Lueckenhoff, president of the Association of Boxing Commissions. "They're probably just three or four" among the 42 states and nine other entities that regulate boxing in the United States.
Since boxing was legalized in Hawai'i in 1929, administration of the sport has been almost exclusively a male preserve. There have been a few female boxers and managers, but of the hundreds of appointees who have sat on the five-member commission over the years, only two have been women. And all five previous executive officers have been men with boxing backgrounds.
With a hiring freeze in place when Mike Machado retired in December after nearly 30 years with the commission, the last 25 as executive officer, Kamioka became the interim in-house successor to the five boards and commissions, including boxing, that Machado administered.
"Boxing has been an interesting assignment because it is a separate world unto itself," Kamioka said. "What helps is the amount of assistance I'm getting from (assistant) Alice Worth, Bobby (Lee) and so many others."
People who have worked with the 50-ish Kamioka say she is a quick-study and a no-nonsense administrator. "If any woman they have can handle the job, she can," said Lee, a former executive officer who serves as an advisor to the commission. "She did a good job handling the contractors licensing board, which can be just as tough as boxing," Lee said.
"She's sharp and a good rules and laws person; I give her credit taking it on," Machado said.
