Saturday, June 26, 2010

Farewell To 'Ballroom Boxing Report!'

As I write this, the final edition of the "Ballroom Boxing Report" is airing on ESPN 1300 in Baltimore. The show, hosted by Scott Wagner and Scotty Crouse, filled an important void for boxing fans in the local area for many years.

Although I always thought they could have done more conversation about the local boxing scene, the show was a great vehicle for boxing fans to discuss the important boxing issues of the day. When Wagner brought Crouse onto the show, he brought a human encyclopedia on board. Crouse is someone whose knowledge of the sport will take him very far in this business.

So thanks to Scott Wagner and Scotty Crouse for incredible work and boxing fans will truly miss you!

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

WHILE WE ARE AT IT, LETS SAY FAREWELL TO DAVE HOLLAND AS HE WILL BE BOUNCED OUT OF HIS POSITION AS VIRGINIA BOXING COMMISSIONER. GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH! REMEMBER WHERE YOU HEARD IT!

Anonymous said...

Is the Ballroom Boxing in Glen Burnie going away or just the radio show?

Gary Digital Williams said...

The radio show is permanently gone. Scott Wagner has said he is taking a step back from promoting shows, which means he will not be putting on shows on a regular basis as he has in the past.

The promotion is not completely gone, just will not be as frequent as in the past.

Anonymous said...

That was ana amazing show back in the day, but from what I hear, Scott ran it into the ground. Any truth? What really happened?

Anonymous said...

Why did they cancel the Ballroom Boxing Report? I really enjoyed it and those guys knew boxing! Was it bad ratings?

Anonymous said...

Most likely cutbacks and/or low ratings was the reason for the cancellation.

People just aren't that interested in boxing anymore. The people who love boxing like myself aren't even watching boxing like that anymore. The cards have been pathetic (not just local but national as well) and we just don't have enough exciting and blockbuster fights to garner interest, even from actual fans.

As far as the side bar MMA discussion we have going on goes... I believe MMA has reached it's peaked. The demographic they are catering towards isn't a very loyal one. They markets towards the same people who like Pokemon, Digimon, Britney Spears, Nsync, and etc. Time will only tell what happens. I enjoy MMA (as I do boxing) and it is more than "men rolling around on the floor" Billy Bob Thornton. Instead of dogging each other, MMA and Boxing would be wise to embrace each other..... But that won't happen.

Anonymous said...

My friend MMA is on the way down.
It has run it's course and is getting ready to be regulated by a national commission which would limit these little over night promoters.
PS.
the decline is because of the economy on both sides of the coin.
Boxing has fans just like MMA but you will find that this MMA fad is on the way out.
Joe H.

Anonymous said...

What the major promoters don't understand that while they try to put the smaller independent promotions out of business, they are actually doing themselves a disservice. You can judge how popular something is but monitoring how successful businesses who don't have the luxury of spending million dollars on advertising are doing. UFC (which is MMA's "big league") is screwing itself over by putting other companies out of business. They think they are helping but all that does is alienates fans not make them come towards you. It pisses them off. Don't believe. Look at the WWE and the fact the only television contract they could get for one of it's main shows is on a channel that most cable/satellite providers don't even carry (I know Direct TV doesn't carry it.

Only time will tell if it's a fad. I do believe it has peaked though. Like I said before, the market they have isn't a real loyal one AT ALL.

MMA isn't on the "way out" though. It's just that they can't get any bigger than what they already are.

Gary Digital Williams said...

According to Scott Wagner, there was no "cancellation." I don't think they would have had an opportunity to say goodbye in the manner they did yesterday if they were cancelled (Follow what is happening at Majic 102.3 to understand what that means.

Wagner has been doing promotion and the radio show for a long time and according to him, this had become more work than fun. When that becomes the case, you take a step back. This has happened before in this area.

If you remember a great promoter named Stu Satosky in the Baltimore area, he put on some tremendous shows in the 90's at the Pikesville Armory and Martin's West. After awhile, though, it got to be very stressful and he took what turned out to be a permanent step back.

Hopefully this will not be permanent for Wagner. Ballroom Boxing has done 91 shows so far and we need the brand name in the area.

Anonymous said...

Boxing in Virginia is not a joke. The Virginia Boxing Commission is a joke and let's hope that what you say about Dave Holland comes to pass, but boxing is not a joke in Virginia. There are some very good promoters and some very good, and possibly great, fighters in Virginia. Scott Farmer, Joe Hensley, and Johnny Lange put on some of the better professional boxing shows you will ever see. Virginia has some very good fighters: Dorin Spivey, Andrew Farmer, Adam Seal, George Rivera, Scott Sigmon, Juan Robles, Bayan Jargal, Bobby Jordan, Stephon Alexander, Moondre Pope, Jeremiah Wiggins, Patrick Budd, Frankie Filippone, William Bailey, Cordaro Simpkins, Maurice Chalmers, Joshua Robertson, Todd Wilson, Jennifer Salinas, Juan Rodriquez, Zain Shah, Jaywon Woods, Terry Roy, Jimmy Lange, Tracey Brewer, David Hopkins, Oliver McCall, Elijah McCall, and probably a few more that I've left out. That is an impressive roster of talent and, if you look at that list objectively, you have to admit that to yourself. As impressive as that list of fighters is, and as stellar as the boxing shows in Virginia are, the Virginia Boxing and Wrestling Commission is on they opposite end of the spectrum. The are inept, unprofessionial, and run with such hamfisted personnel that it is amazing, and indeed more impressive, that such talent and such shows are being produced in the Old Dominion.

Anonymous said...

kay korona should i say any more better than all those stiffs

Anonymous said...

Forgot about Kay Koroma, very good fighter and he would be one of the better fighters on that list. But to call the rest of those guys stiffs, you're way off base on that one.

Anonymous said...

I CAN TAKE THAT CRITISM I GUESS I WAS OFF BASE BUT CANT 4 GT MY MAN KAY

Anonymous said...

the joe hensleys of the world
(parasite pimps) are the reason mma has gained much of the boxing fan base, real match ups, real competition, not joe hensleys bums against cadavers!i dont think fat joe with have such a cozy relationship with the new commissioner who wont be as senile as dave holland.then again, anyone doing business with a carnival barker like fat joe deserves what he gets

Anonymous said...

Whatever loser! I know Joe, and for the record, he's not that fat anymore. He is bald though. You're right about that one. As far as being ugly or not, who cares? I don't! You must care though because you brought it up. What? You want to give big Joe a kiss don't you? I wrote the posts about all the talented boxers there are in Virginia, not Joe and I don't have to tell you who the hell I am. Fuck you! But I do know that Dave Holland is a very unpopular man, almost to a man, with every boxing promoter, matchmaker, and manager that has ever had the "pleasure" of doing business with him. As bad as his reputation is in boxing, it is even worse in MMA. I know this is a boxing website, but I am an MMA promoter. I don't see boxing and MMA as competing sports. I see them as great sports that can co-exist with one another. I love boxing and I hate to see both sports being regulated by such an incompetent, arrogant, classless individual as Dave Holland. He has committed some grievous errors and his jig is up. It was his rudeness and arrogance which has undid him and caused these indiscretions to come to light. If he weren't such an asshole to people he would probably be able to hang on to his job. But the grievous errors he has committed, the incompetence with which he has performed his job, his days are numbered and buddy, they are counting down to zero as we speak! Asta la vista Davey!

Anonymous said...

This is what has been confusing me about you guys and the comments you are making about Dave Holland....... What exactly does the commissioner do that make you blame him for the state of boxing in the Beltway area?? I enjoy boxing but haven't been involved in the business side so I really don't know.

It's just odd to me when you say he makes "screw-ups" and "mistakes"... All they do is sanction fights right??.... Isn't the rest up to the actual promoters??

I may be dead wrong because like I said, I have never been involved with the business side of boxing but I just don't understand why Dave Holland is being called "worthless" when his job at the most seems minimal and delegated to signing papers once they cross his desk.

Anonymous said...

I'll remain Anonymous for now or at least until that gray haired F%^ker is gone, he told me as a cutman that I couldn't use Adrenaline 1/1000 to treat cuts, now if that's not as blatant as it gets I don't know what is. Good Riddance!!!!!!!