By Mark Vester

Boxing returned to Staten Island, New York, as ESPN's Friday Night Fights was held in the famous St. George Theatre.

The the main event, the crowd was treated to a crusierweight brawl that saw Darnell "The Ding-A-Ling Man" Wilson (21-5-3, 18 KOs) land a monster left hook in the eleventh round to knock Emmanuel "Chukwu" Nwodo (20-3, 16 KOs) out cold for several minutes with his left leg twisted under his body. The referee called off the fight as paramedics rushed the ring to attend to Nwodo.

After two rounds of feeling eachother out, Wilson scored a knockdown in the third round. At around the ninth round, Nwodo was on the run and trying to survive until the final bell. He almost made it to the end, that is until Wilson scored the knockout punch of the year.

Popular Staten Island lightweight prospect Nicky DeMarco (2-0, 2KOs) was scheduled in a swing fight that followed the event, but because the main event ran past the midnight hour, the show ended with many unhappy fans from the Staten Island area that came to see DeMarco fight.

Members of the New York Jets football team, IBF junior welteweight champ Paulie Malignaggi, HBO's Max Kellerman, former champ Iran Barkley and HBO's Bob Papa and Harold Lederman were all in the building.