KEY WEST, Fla. - Several thousand fans gathered Friday to cheer for boxers during an evening of matches at a waterfront venue known for street performers and visitors who celebrate the sunset everyday.
The fans turned out in Mallory Square to watch "Rumble in Paradise," a seven-bout evening card that featured two title fights that were broadcast on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights."
In the main event, Randall Bailey of Miami scored a 2nd-round TKO on Harrison Cuello of the Dominican Republic to successfully defend his International Boxing Association's light welterweight title.
In the undercard, Miami's George Blades scored a 7th-round TKO on John R. William to grab the World Boxing Organization's latino light heavyweight title.
In the 1930s, when he wasn't writing, fishing or indulging at Sloppy Joe's Bar, Ernest Hemingway often officiated boxing matches outside a small bordello near his Spanish colonial home in this island city.
"Fishing, tourists, sunsets, but I never thought I would see boxing here at Mallory Square," Key West resident Lee Mattingly said. "But it's a wonderful thing. I love it."
Even the Key West mayor said he was infatuated with the event.
"We've enjoyed boxing since I was a youth in the 70s," Mayor Morgan McPherson said. "This is a great event."