By Ernest Gabion
Think of St. Patrick’s Day, and naturally the one thing that comes to mind is the color green.
Such was indeed the theme on a beautiful Wednesday evening as Golden Boy Promotions held a four-fight card in the middle of the Nokia Plaza in Los Angeles.
Where the theme didn’t hold true was beneficial to the patrons on hand. GBP didn’t seek any green from its live audience, as the entire card was free to whoever wanted to see some live boxing action.
While the card didn't pit Golden Boy's best against the best, it accomplished what matchmaker Robert Diaz set out to do – present all-action fights.
Eight unsigned fighters, five of them making the pro debuts, provided plenty of entertaining action for the fairly packed audience. None of the fighters on the show will remind anyone of can't miss prospects, but that doesn’t mean it was completely devoid of talent.
Local super featherweight southpaw Jesus Rodrigues seemingly had the most upside among the five newcomers who gained invaluable experience from the evening.
The same promoters who will soon bring to you the biggest fight of the year (Floyd Mayweather-Shane Mosley on May 1) pulled out all of the stops for this free show. Golden Boy’s efforts provided the local fighters a sizable audience, a VIP area that included the likes of Oscar De La Hoya and Amir Khan, and the atmosphere of a big boxing night they may never get to experience again.
Kudos to Golden Boy for showing the fans that not everything is about site fees or that TV money always has to dictates when and where fights are made.
They showed the crowd a good time. The provided the fighters on hand a simulation of what its like to be on a grand stage; and that it’s possible to put on a highly entertaining card without the world's largest HD TV at their exposure - although the 20' screen on which this card played wasn't half bad either.
