«
»

Fight Town Fresno

By William Trillo
Photos: William Trillo & German Villasenor

When I heard Artur Beterbiev was going to be fighting for the Light Heavyweight title just a stone’s throw away from my home in Los Angeles I figured I would be making another trek to Las Vegas. Much to my surprise and dismay I found out the battle for the title would take place in Fresno, California. I must admit that announcement took the wind right out of my sails…so to speak.

But because of Beterbiev’s Montreal connection and my love for all things Quebec I was bound and determined to head to Central California no matter what. Beterbiev, whose name is not necessarily on the tips of everyone tongues yet, was taking on the lesser known Enrico Koelling for the vacant IBF 175 strap. As far as title fights go this one was flying way under the radar.

But in the Main Event on the ESPN televised show was none other than Fresno’s Jose Carlos Ramirez in a battle against Mike Reed. Both were undefeated and looking to grab a Lightweight Title.

Ramirez filled the house at the Save Mart Arena and I came to find out that Fresno is one of the better fight cities in North America. These fans were knowledgeable and when it came to blowing off the roof, few cities can compare.

The Top Rank promoted show went off without a hitch. Earlier in the week Top Rank’s Lee Samuels told me this was a “very interesting and high action card” and he was right. With the report that the ESPN televised card was a huge ratings success it seems more than likely that Fresno is going to be the home of some very important fights in 2018.

Hotel accommodations notwithstanding, I think I heard one of the officials call it The Bates Motel, the weekend was superb and I can’t wait to head north on the 99 again soon.

Did I mention Beterbiev and Ramirez left with their undefeated records intact and were sporting new leather around their waists? They were a knockout success too!

Check out www.Pound4Pound.com for all the latest boxing news.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 13th, 2017 at 4:45 am and is filed under Boxing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

2 Responses to “Fight Town Fresno”

  1. Ray Fight Net Radio says:
    November 13, 2017 at 4:45 pm

    Nice lil piece on Fresno mr Trillo

    • William T says:
      November 13, 2017 at 10:03 pm

      They put 13,838 butts in the seats up there. That’s very impressive. Most of them got there very early and many stayed for BOTH walk out bouts…..that in and of itself is worthy of note.
      So is the fact tat the local Jack In The Box needs 24 hour security guards.