Sunday, June 01, 2014

Aftermath of Saturday Night -- Where do we go from here?

As promised, there is more to say about what took place Saturday night at the Washington Convention Center.

Let me first address the anonymous naysayers that filled the blog this past week when talking about this card.  Once again, many of you believe you know what you are talking about when, in reality, those of us who understand the business are like the Duck's Breath Mystery Theatre character "Dr. Science" who, as his announcer says, "He knows more than you do..THAT'S RIGHT!"  

That's what the bulk of Saturday night came down to.  Obviously, matchmaker Brian Dillon was the "Dr. Science" in this situation because he evidently knew a LOT more than the folks criticizing the card did.  I can honestly and without reservation say that Dillon worked his behind off to make that card work and he brought together some very competitive matches that the fans in attendance (and there were more than the 20 or 30 people thought) enjoyed.

I've said this before and I will say it again:  We can't judge a card strictly on the won-loss records of the people involved.  More often than not, these opponents tend to deliver, which is why they seem to be able to find a bout on a moment's notice.

Also, I need to address some unwarranted comments towards Ty Barnett.  Someone needs to explain why there are these personal attacks toward him.  As far as the bout was concerned, and I believe the majority of you understand this, Barnett got caught with a good punched and he was knocked out.  IT HAPPENS!  We don't like to see it happen to our locals but it does.  The fool that ran into the ring, apparently, doesn't understand that and therefore, should not be allowed into another boxing venue in this area again.  This personal attack on Barnett is totally uncalled for and I don't understand how the two connect.

My biggest fear is the impact this incident will have on the Beltway Boxing scene. Fortunately, because we have had big events in the area recently without incident (because security is tighter) we may be okay. The club shows, however, may suffer because we may have lost a venue for the smaller shows in the Convention Center.

There are two security teams that work shows in the Baltimore area and if either teams were at the Convention Center, this never would have taken place. Those are the guys that did Scott Wagner's Ballroom Boxing security. One person from the Ballroom Boxing security group later formed his own security team and did Jake Smith's cards in Woodlawn, Pikesville and Baltimore. We never had an incident like Saturday night with those guys working security and even when the fans got riled up, those teams nipped those situations in the bud.

I mention this because there is one major lesson that Top Flight Promotions and other starting promotional companies need to learn: You can't promote boxing cards on the cheap. Thanks to Dillon, they got away with doing that in the ring Saturday because, despite not being able to spend a lot of money, the bouts, again, were solid and competitive.   This is why I have never promoted because I don't have deep pockets and I still have short arms.

This also means you can't promote cheaply outside the ring. I'm sure there are some great people working for Top Flight. They are probably, however, not heavily trained in the business of security. There were also little things, that I will discuss with them only (if asked), that will make their promotion better. 

I am hoping that this incident will not stop Top Flight from promoting cards. They are necessary to the growth of this boxing area and their cards have been quality ones in the past.  Do they hold some responsibility for what took place last night? Yes they do and I stand by the comments I made in the original Post-Fight Wrap-Up.  My hope and belief is that they will learn from some of the mistakes that were made Saturday night.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well said, someone is using your blog site to hate on this young man. And from the consistent grammatical errors, it seems like it's one person doing a lot of hating.

Anonymous said...

I agree with your story, but when the promoters brother aka Ty Barnett brother, whom the world should know was the mystery man that jumped in the ring, and attacked Rivera,you can have all the security in the world and it wouldn't have made a difference. so hell yeah the promoter is at fault as well as the boxer TY BARNETT...So lets stop saying a crazy fan attacked Rivera, and lets state the facts TY Barnett's brother was mad he got knocked the F out and jumped in the ring and attacked RIVERA.

Anonymous said...

And lets not mention Top Flight promoters are Ty Barnett and his family, to include his brother that jumped in the ring.

Anonymous said...

The dum ho with light blue jeans and white tank top who jumped in the ring is also a family member. she was saying nasty things all night about his oppenant, she jumped in acting she was going to do something but was scared as can be. his brother is a sore looser and should been locked his ass up. ty should not be ashamed. that 2 piece would have knocked out a heavtweight. his own friends are now running around showin the knockout every chance they get. now you got guys with 2 0r 3 fights calling ty out. if the old man beat him. then the older ty might beat you. be careful. ty did not tell his brother to jump in ring. don't hold that against him. he should still do fights in dc. go out with a win if he can.

Anonymous said...

Did the DC boxing commission approve security? I thought commissions had to approve promoter's security for a pro boxing show.

Anonymous said...

What the attendance count?

Mark said...

Mark E. Ortega ‏@MarkEOrtega · 9h
Video of the BRUTAL KNOCKOUT of gatekeeper Ty Barnett by veteran journeyman Cosme Rivera has emerged: http://Instagram.com/p/ow4kGOFeYw/ via @MrBrannin

Mark said...

OMG TY Barnett Fight http://youtu.be/aEc4fZA2AXg

Anonymous said...

Several things I noticed in the short clip:

1) it looked like a great fight between guys who were both really good fighters.

2) HUGE KO and Barnett was out cold. Hey, it happens. If an all time great like Roy Jones Jr can get caught and KO'd cold it can happen to anyone!

3) Ty's brother, if that was indeed him, proved that he is a coward by attacking from the back.

4) IF the video caught the full extent of the attack, then I think everyone needs to take a deep breath, relax, and calm down. Sure it was bad, but it could have been SO much worse. The attacker didn't have a weapon and Rivera and his people got him off of Rivera in a matter of a couple of seconds. My reaction was that it wasn't that big of a deal. Don't get me wrong, it shouldn't happen. But that guy ran and sabotaged Rivera from behind. I don't think extra security could have stopped him b/c it was such a kamikaze attack. I also don't think extra security would have gotten him off any faster than Rivera and his corner got him away. Yes, it was bad but it was in no way, shape, or form nearly as bad as Riddick Bowe's guy against Andrew Golota.