By Scott Brown: Friday Night Fights turns to the Venue in Hammond, In at the Horseshoe Casino for the finale. Credit goes to Hitz Boxing and Banner Promotions for putting together a rather entertaining night Covering fights and being close to the action has restored my love for the sport..

Whether it be sharing a opinion with a fight fan, taking in the action of the actual fights, or even a human element can come into play when one meets the mother of a young man making his debut. There are so many electrifying dynamics at play that draws boxing fans to the event makes them wanting more. It’s icing on the cake when both fighters give it their all and there is a competitive fire.

That is exactly what happened in the co-feature: Hank Lundy vs. David Diaz. David form the outset looked to swarm Lundy looking for ways to counter his slickness. At times during the fight it seemed Diaz hard charging act was working. It even looked like Diaz could finish Lundy in the fourth round but was unable to finish his opponent. That became Diaz’s fatal error in this fight. Through his aggression and failed to attempt to finish Lundy he also received an unintentional elbow for his efforts. Lundy gained confidence with his escape and stayed on his horse pumping out his jab peppering the wounded eye in the fifth. Team Diaz took to mending the eye as the ref looked on with caution. With Diaz wearing down, and jab becoming weaker. Lundy managed to finish Diaz night with left hook with 0:37 in the sixth.

The main feature gave us Demetrius Andrade vs. Grady Brewer. This fight lacked drama as both fighter remained very technical and respectful of the other’s prowess. Demetrius throughout the rounds was able to land his jab more effectively and seemed an edge quicker with movement and shoulder rolls. The rounds began to look out a lot like mirror images of previous rounds as Demetrius would get the better of exchanges, staying ahead a bit with the jab. To their credit it was a constant technical battle with them both near fighting distance. The bigger credit goes to Demetrius as he adds a decision win and his first feather of quality opposition.

When going to boxing events it is thrilling to experience the show within the show and I am not talking exclusively about the card girls. I got to meet Dwayne Wisdom a, super featherweight, and his mother. Wisdom had his professional debut with his mother ringside. It gets real when one meets the mother of these fighters. In all seriousness there is a ambulance gurney along with paramedics a 50 yards from the ring. It was awesome to share that experience of her son winning by KO over Paulie Settepani.

With talking with some of the fighters and fight fans. It’s powerful to see the metaphor for life that is boxing. Life is a fight. Life is also a continuous process that one must also work at. And if you live long enough you will get knocked down as well. There are also other narratives that play in boxing as well. At times we are set to be competitive against each other. Times we have to take for ourselves so we can shine. The sportsmanship of boxing is honored because it is not personal it is just business.