Eye of the Tiger: Baltimore Boxing Two

Do-doo-do-do-doo-dooo-do-do-dooooo.

Wouldn't that be cool to create something like a song, and every time someone heard it they wouldn't think of you, but of something or somebody else. Much like "Eye of the Tiger" by Survivor in Rocky III.

That's really beside the point of this post. But I did watch Rocky III and IV last week. And that song was stuck in my head the other evening.

This past Friday night I shot amateur and pro boxing at Du Burns arena in Baltimore. It was a first for me and I must say it was exciting. I don't think I've ever watched a pro boxing match on television before, so seeing it live ringside was something else. The energy that filled the arena was intense.

I got to the arena around 7PM and made some feature shots of the boxers warming up and preparing for their fights. As 8PM rolled around, I made my way toward the ring to practice shooting. I had three amateur matches to practice on before they brought out the pros.

These guys weren't joking around. In the third amateur bout two super heavy weights went at it. One guy was well over 300lbs, the other a big, fit past Michigan State football player. The football player knocked this big guy out cold. It was something I'll never forget. It wasn't that great of a fight, but actually seeing someone go from full consensus to knocked out in a second is uncanny.

As the bouts rolled on, I kept looking forward to the main event which starred local Baltimore fighter Mike Dietrich. Of course I was shooting in less than ideal lighting conditions and got covered in a splatter of sweat, water, and yes, even blood at one point as I anticipated the last fight.

Before I continue, I must mention and give a plug to Mike Greenhill who was also shooting ringside. Mike answered any and every question I had about boxing and even threw me some pointers. Thanks, Mike.

As the night grew late, Dietrich made his arrival to the ring. He is big and strong. I wouldn't last a single punch against him. Without going into much detail he knocked his opponent out cold and out of the ring. Literally. It was impressive. But I've said that plenty of times in this post. What do you expect? Go watch a live boxing match!

Over and out. I am on vacation for a couple days although I'd rather be shooting. But I am pretty excited that they ran three images in today's Examiner of the boxing. Cover teaser, one four columns, and one two columns.

Check out some more boxing photos on my SportsShooter gallery page and look for a "beachy" update.