What
looked to be a rather forgettable edition of “Friday Night Fights” in
Chicago instead turned out to be one of their better shows of 2012 as
both Jose Luis Castillo and Glen Johnson put up great fights against
Ivan Popoca and Andrzej Fonfara, respectively. And the atmosphere at the
UIC Pavilion was lively and played a part in enhancing the broadcast.
So again, yes, the live audience- and having one- is certainly
important, no matter what some TV packagers try to claim.
The
attendance was right around 4,000 (very good for “FNF”) and it showed
once again that the “Windy City” is a very underrated, under-utilized
boxing market. The track record has shown that if you bring the right
fights to this jurisdiction, they will do well. They not only have a
sizable population but a large concentration of Latino and, yes, Polish
fans who have shown they will support their boxers en masse.
My hats off to 8 Count Productions’ Dominic Pesoli and his crew for their efforts this past week.
