The above photo of the crowd doesn't really do it justice. The photo was taken about 30 minutes before bell time at the Roughest and Toughest Brawl on Saturday night. By the time the bell rang, it was not just a standing room only crowd, there was barely a place to stand in Smoky Mountain Event Center in Waynesville.
The brawl is an "off the street boxing" tournament similar to the same format as toughman contests. Boxing legend Eric "Butterbean" Esch who got his start in similar events, now presents the brawl in towns across the Carolinas.
"Off the street boxing" is when regular everyday people compete in amateur style fights for cash prizes, a title belt and bragging rights. The event excludes seasoned amateurs or pro fighters and is stringently governed by the state boxing commission. Fighters wear headgear and other protective gear to ensure their safety and a commission approved doctor is ringside to ensure fighter safety.
The Waynesville tour stop was one that not only featured a capacity crowd, but a crowd that was excited and loud to say the least. I have spent a large portion of my life in gyms, football stadiums and other venues for various sporting events and this was one of the loudest atmospheres, I have been in.
One of the major drawing points is the "bang for the buck", the two night event featured two dozen fights on just the 2nd night of the Waynesville tour stop.
All of the fighters in the various men's weight classes had to fight multiple times, Saturday night to get there. On the 2nd night, three men's champions in three different weight classes and a woman's champion were crowned.
In the Middleweight Finals , Creighton Bradley took on Luke Ramos. Bradley had the crowd on his side. The young man is from Cherokee, NC and the locals were clearly behind him. He was able to win the Middleweight Title by decision after the fight went the full three scheduled rounds.
The Upstate was well represented in the Light Heavyweight Division. The finals featured Spartanburg Native Rontay Jones taking on Sylva, North Carolina's Jon Ledford. Jones won by TKO after a ref stoppage that came after he knocked Ledford down twice. Jones also had the "knockout of the night" in his Semifinal fight.
The Women's Final was a fight that at times look like it might devolve into a street fight. Lincolnton, North Carolina native Erica Sayre and her opponent Kierstyn Arch went the distance. There were a couple instances where the two got tangled up and wrestled each other to the ground. The referee had his hands full but did a tremendous job of keeping control of the fight. Sayre won by decision.
The Heavyweight Division was one by what most folks who have thought was an unlikely contender. Hickory, NC native Shaheim Clark weighed in at just 201 pounds. He won fights against three men on Saturday night, all of them outweighed him. Two of them outweighed him by more than 60 pounds. However, Clark's cardio allowed him to outlast the larger competitors. I applaud his use of strategy to tie up the other fighters when they got inside on him. That allowed him to keep from taking much punishment in "close quarters" and create a break and needed space. Clark won in the Finals by split decision.
Butterbean along with promoters "Money" Mike Long, Chris Walters and their crew will bring the Brawl event to the Cabarrus Arena in Concord, NC February 21st and 22nd. The tour also has a return to the Upstate scheduled for this Spring, more details on that at a later date.
Over the years I have been too a number of Pro Boxing matches, UFC/MMA events and Pro Wrestling cards over the years, the Roughest and Toughest Brawl brings with it an atmosphere that can't really be described, it has to be experienced.