Friday, June 01, 2012

Boxing at the Sands Event Center: A definite winner

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER From all accounts, the first boxing card at the Sands Event Center was a smashing success on Friday night. The local favorite, Ronald Cruz, delighted the raucous crowd of nearly 2,000 with a win by unanimous decision over Prenice Brewer. The two other locals on the card -- former Bethlehem Catholic football player Eric Newell and Allentown's Jerome Rodriguez --earned draws.Cruz 003 But the entire production, which was televised nationally by the NBC Sports Network, went off without a hitch. This seems to be a good venue for the sport, big enough to accommodate a couple of thousand people, but still intimate enough for the crowd to feel part of the action. And they definitely made their presence felt tonight, especially during the Cruz fight. That fight, especially with all of the noise in the building, was the night's highlight, although Gabriel Rosado came through with a TKO in the feature attraction. Cruz is a likable fighter who has become beloved in the local Hispanic community. He is a positive role-model, a soft-spoken guy who wants to do well for his family. I like his style. He will most definitely be back here highlighting another card. He has a chance to put this place on the boxing map and make it the house that Ronald Cruz built. I know that there's a MMA card coming here on June 16. We'll see if that event can deliver the same kind of atmosphere we had in here tonight.

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