This was a strange night, my friends. The card listed 10 bouts, including 5 featuring guys from the Brooklyn Boxing Club (BBC): "General" Maxwell Taylor, Mike Dietrich, Mike Paschall, Jesse, and Billy (BJ) Johnson. But:

Jesse's bout was canceled. Jesse is an 88-pound 13-year old kid with a big heart and a bigger right hook. This was to be his first fight but at the last minute, Danny canceled the bout because Jesse would be giving up 15 to 20 pounds to his opponent. It's just very hard to find opponents in the 88-pound class (not to mention the over-50 class). So Jesse, and lots of other people were disappointed.

Mike Dietrich, BBC's 220-pound 16-year old National Heavyweight Champion, didn't show. He just didn't show. Nobody knew where he was or what happened to him. So his bout was also canceled.

One other bout was also canceled so that left only 7, including 3 matches involving the BBC.

Maxwell, a 15-year-old with over 100 fights under his belt had a pretty easy time against his opponent and won a unanimous decision. Some people question whether he should be fighting so much but his father is his manager and promoter and may not be able to see the problem.

Mike Paschall, who won a really close match in August against Ismail Irvin, caught a break when Ismail had to drop out because of the flu. They found some nobody to fight Mike and this nobody gave Mike a really tough fight. Mike, however, prevailed and will fight Ismail on November 30 for the state title in the 157-pound class.

BJ getting taped by Josh

Best fight of the night belonged to BJ. This was BJ's first fight and was he ever up for it. At the sound of the bell, he came storming out and after two or three punches, his opponent was on the canvas. All of BJ's friends were excited. But when the guy got up, he was a little more cautious. This time it took about another full minute before BJ knocked him down again. After the referee checked this guy out, he allowed the fight to continue.

Everyone was surprised when this guy (I apologize for not getting his name) connected with a POWERFUL right hook to BJ's left eye which (a) knocked BJ down and (b) closed BJ's left eye. It looked Very Bad. BJ was shook up. But he got back up and with only a few seconds left in the first round, he again knocked his opponent to the ground. Three knockdowns in a round result in an automatic TKO. And so BJ triumphed in his first fight.

Not only did he win a trophy for his victory, but at the end of the night, he was also awarded the trophy for Fighter of the Night.

BJ's First Fight

So, all in all, a good night for BJ and for the Brooklyn Boxing Club which went 4-for-4.

Next set of bouts is scheduled for November 30.