Televised Boxing Meant Only for Television

By Nick Wagner
Contributing Writer

This last Saturday, ShoBox, a boxing series featured on Showtime Networks, came to the Scheels Arena showing non-telivised fights at 7 p.m. and televised fights at 10 p.m. The card pulled fighters from across the United States and internationally. Andy “Kaos” Kolle and Nick Runningbear were the only familiar local fighters to perform.

The fights varied from boring to exciting. As the night progressed the fights improved, showcasing quality bouts for the televised portion of the event. In the meantime, the live audience had to suffer through a few less than exciting fights with long breaks in between bouts and a 45 minute intermission between the non-televised and televised fights. I showed up early at 6:30 p.m. expecting a crowd, but counted less than 50 heads, and I left the parking lot of the Scheels Arena at midnight feeling as if I had undergone a marathon-like experience.

The evening of boxing wasn’t a total failure, bringing fighters from all over and showcasing talented prospects, but it was a failure for the Scheels Arena box office. Reporting that there were 500 heads in attendance would be gracious. This could be attributed to the fights falling on North Dakota’s deer opener and/or poor advertising.

Andy Kolle was most likely ShowBox’s attempt at drawing a local crowd. On the other hand, one has to ask if ShowBox cared that there was a less than stellar attendance. If they do, it’s highly unlikely that this nationally televised event will be returning anytime soon.

The crowd wasn’t there and the atmosphere lacked. Where was the lighting, the hype, the energy, the people and all of the stuff that makes a memorable live show? I felt as if I would have had the same experience if I were to have gone home and waited for ShowBox to air on television. A live event is supposed to offer something that reclining in front of a screen can’t.

The 1st fight of the night saw Minot, ND’s Nick Runningbear losing by decision to Minneapolis, MN’s Corey Rodriguez. In the 4 round bout, Nick looked strong in the first, but was unprepared to go the distance. Corey walked forward pressing the action, knocking Nick down a few times in the later rounds. It seemed as if Corey would score a knock out, but Nick despite being tired showed that he had a chin, not letting Corey finish the fight.

Jamal James of Minneapolis finished Superior, WI’s Wes Ronchi in the 1st round for the second fight of the night. This was another four-round bout, but instead it saw Wes KOed early.

The 5th fight of the night saw Fergus Falls, MN’s Andy “Kaos” Kolle KOing Francisco Osorio of Miami, FL in the 1st round, extending Francisco to a 6 fight losing streak. Right away there was some back and forth feeling out, with Andy outpunching Francis. Andy pressed Francisco, but he fired back pushing Andy into a corner. Andy didn’t stay there long, and pushing forward he KOed Francisco with a solid combination.

The 7th fight of the night was notable seeing Cincinnati, OH’s Aaron Pryor Jr., the son of former world Junior Welterweight champion Aaron Pryor, putting a stop to Coconut Creek, Fl’s Dyah Davis’s nine-fight win streak. Aaron won using basic fundamentals, utilizing his 6’4” frame and 84” reach. He successfully landed straight punch after punch, not allowing the smaller Dyah inside of his long reach. Aaron knocked Dyah down in the last round and went on to win the fight by unanimous decision. This was an exciting fight with Dyah attempting to utilize his speed and movement, but slowed as the rounds progressed allowing Aaron’s punches to land.

In the main event Edwin Rodriguez of Worcester, MA TKOed James McGirt Jr. at 1:57 of round 9. Edwin could be considered a fringe contender with an undefeated record of 17 – 0. James, a talented fighter, who having suffered a couple tough losses, would have looked at Edwin as a stepping stone to be put into that contention spot. Instead James missed his step and was overworked and overwhelmed by Edwins’s straight punches. James shouldn’t be taken lightly, but Edwin easily outclassed his opponent, picking him apart with well chosen punches.

Boxing is a great sport and fun to watch when two talented, well matched individuals are pitted against one another. It would have been nice to see ShoBox make more of an effort to showcase their athletes and create more exciting match ups. If it weren’t for a few well-matched fights, it wouldn’t have been much of an event at all. Without flare ShowBox brought an event to Fargo in an unexciting fashion. The only thing that saved it was boxing.

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