The State Of The State

THE STATE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA BOXING

It has been a wild ride since Governor Pawlenty and the state of Minnesota authorized a new Boxing Commission and we began hosting state sanctioned cards. And since that time just a few short years ago, we’ve had some good times haven’t we? Sure, there’s been some controversy too; an element of professional fisticuffs since the inception of the sport-and we’ve been no exception. First, we saw the return of boxing to a legitimate large venue; the Target Center- something not seen since St. Paul’s Matt Vanda battled liver-eater, Yori Boy Campas in 2005. And with it, came our first state sanctioned Minnesota Middleweight champion in more than a decade. That generated a crowd of 5,170 screaming people. Something unheard of for local fights. But this was just a prelude of what was to come next when the state’s hottest rivalry since Brian Brunette faced Gary “The Hammer” Holmgren in February of 1984. Sure there had been a few in-between like LaCoursiere-Evgen and Margan-Papasadora, but none that was able to draw like Bonsante and Vanda, which drew an audience of 9,272. It wasn’t a state record, but its aftershock was as impressive as Bonsante’s performance. Not since Bobick-LeDoux I back in 1976, had so many casual and non-boxing fans paid to join the die-hards to witness a fistic battle.

So where are we at now? Nothing sells like a local rivalry, and we saw a few. We witnessed Matt Vanda and Kenny Kost duke it out at the Roy Wilkins, followed by Vanda and Andy Kolle trading fantastic shots at the Myth in Maplewood back in November of 2007. Earlier this year was the passing of the torch from Anthony Bonsante to Andy Kolle. Mean while one if the hottest Middleweight prospects in the world has been right under our noses racking up wins against the top fighters from all over the United States. Terry Tock 17-4, Jonny Hayes 6-3, Durrell Richardson 11-2, and Patrick Perez 26-5, all have fallen to “Golden” Caleb Truax’s power and skill.

At a time when Andy Kolle and Caleb Truax should be fighting, it’s not even close to happening. Will we see it happen? Don’t hold your breath. The Kolle camp don’t want any part of the red hot Truax!