And Now For a Night of Fights That Were Actually Entertaining...

On Friday night, Beth and I had the pleasure of attending NYC's Friday Night Fights, an event that happens every few months and was started in 1997 by Church Street Boxing Club. Now we are always big supporters of local shows, as they often feature up-and-coming fighter that you'll be watching on PPV in the not to distant future. Plus, its a great way to meet other local fight supporters. But, to be fair, Friday Night Fights seems less like a local show and more like an institution.

Walking in to the Hall at St. Paul's, you're immediately struck with claustrophobia. This is due in part to the short ceiling and also in part to the incredible number of people in such a small place. And, for the most part, these are true blood fight fans. There were more than a few Wall Street douchey types who were living their Boiler Room dreams (great movie if you haven't seen it), but the vast majority of those in attendance were super fans. The music is sufficiently cheesy to keep the crowd happy. Think Michael Jackson, Black Eyed Peas, and C & C Music Factory. Most of the crowd was general admission, standing room only, but this only added to the whole fabulous ambiance of the evening.

What was truly impressive about the evening was the level of fighting we watched. There were 13 scheduled fights, 10 of which were Muay Thai. I have to assume that this trend is due to the popularity of MMA, but whatever the case, it was fantastic. The level of talent we saw was truly outstanding. We were particularly impressed with Ryan Peterson and John Lancaster, two young Muay Thai fighters we expect to see big things from. Unfortunatley we weren't able to stay all night, so we missed Florina Petcu's win, but we definitley have plans to catch the next fights in January. So if you get a chance, take a look at your local fight scene, you might be surprised at what you find.