Professional boxing returned to North Bergen Wednesday night after nearly a 20-year hiatus, but the enthusiasm of the crowd at Schuetzen Park made it seem as though it had never left.
Main Events Promotions put on a six-bout pro card that drew a standing-room-only crowd of more than 1,500. The energetic throng was sprinkled with celebrities and eager to welcome back the sport with open arms.
“This really brings back a lot of great memories for me,” said long-time boxing trainer and promoter Al Certo of Secaucus, who used to put on the regular “Friday Night Fights” at the old Embassy Hall in North Bergen back in the ’60s and ’70s. “It reminds me of all those great fight nights. It’s a good thing for Hudson County. It’s refreshing. We get to see the local kids, and they get the work.”
“You have to get excited to be around the game again,” said “Irish” Pat Murphy, who fought eight times in North Bergen during his 12-year pro career (1967-1979) as a welterweight contender. He once called North Bergen home before moving to Secaucus. “It’s great for the people who truly love the sport to be able to come home and see some good fights,” Murphy said. “We need to have nights like this.”
The “Wednesday Night Fights” card, which was dubbed “Back to the Future” night, brought out a host of former boxing champions to watch.
Some of the celebrities had local roots, like former world light middleweight champion Mark Medal of Jersey City; former world lightweight, welterweight and light middleweight champ Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker; and perhaps the most famous boxer to ever come out of Hudson County, former heavyweight contender Chuck Wepner, also known as “The Bayonne Bleeder,” and one of only two boxers to ever put Muhammad Ali to the canvas.
“This is Hudson County, where there should be boxing,” said Wepner, who still resides in Bayonne. “I fought in Embassy Hall five times, so I have fond memories. It’s always nice to be able to come home and see the fights in the small clubs like this. I love that. It doesn’t always have to be in the big arenas or in Atlantic City. I think it’s very important to have the game of boxing back in Hudson County.”
Hometown heroes Perhaps the only disappointment of the evening was the performances of the local fighters on the card.
North Bergen native Danny McDermott was excited to come home to fight as a professional, competing in just his fourth professional bout. The junior lightweight, who got his first taste of boxing as a youngster training at the North Bergen PAL, was considered a heavy favorite against Edward Valdez of New York, who entered the ring with a non-descript 2-3-1 pro record.
McDermott also had the hometown crowd in his corner. He kicked off the night’s festivities, competing in the town’s first pro fight since 1986.
The 26-year-old survived some tough moments from Valdez in the early going of their four-round bout.
McDermott was hurt by Valdez’s flurry of early punches, but the local boxer rebounded nicely with a series of his own punches at the end of the first round.
McDermott utilized his left jab better in the second round, with the hometown crowd really getting into it, chanting, “Danny, Danny.” McDermott was workman-like in the second round, but was effective in scoring. He continued that trend through Round 3, scoring at will at the end of the round. At that point, the crowd was going nuts, sensing a knockout.
In the final round, McDermott seemed to keep Valdez at bay with the left jab, but Valdez scored several right hand punches in the closing minute, moves that probably swayed the thinking of the three judges.
The fight was scored 38-38 by two judges, and one judge had it 39-37 in favor of Valdez, so the decision was declared a draw.
The decision angered Valdez’ corner, because they thought they had won the fight. Valdez then jumped onto the top rope and pointed a No. 1 finger at the fans, which drew a chorus of boos.
So the hometown hero did not get a chance to return home victorious.
“I feel like I won the fight,” McDermott said in his dressing room afterwards. “Every time I tried to get comfortable out there, he was holding me. It’s better than a loss, but I wasn’t happy with my performance at all. Of course, it’s a little disappointing. It felt good to be out there with the fans cheering for me, but it would have felt better if I got the win.”
McDermott is not discouraged by the draw.
“It’s a learning experience,” McDermott said. “It’s only my fourth pro fight. I have to go to the next step and get ready to fight again. I should have set up my jab more. I have to learn from this. I can’t wait to get back to training again and learn from the mistakes I made. I’m going to look over the tape and see what I did wrong.” After the fight, McDermott’s trainer, legendary boxer and former world champion James “Buddy” McGirt, who used to fight for Certo and trained during his career in Jersey City, told McDermott about his experiences as a fighter.
“Buddy told me that his first pro fight was a draw, and look where he ended up,” McDermott said. “He told me that I shouldn’t be ashamed of a draw and I should go from there. I’m going to take his words to heart.”
Rooney The other local product on the card was Jersey City native Bobby Rooney, who now resides in Bayonne. Rooney, 33, works full-time as a car dealership manager for Metro Honda in Jersey City. He fought Edward Hemphill of Washington, D.C. in a four-round light heavyweight bout.
Rooney, fighting in his sixth pro fight, was outclassed from the outset and hurt by Hemphill, who raised a knot over Rooney’s left eye in the first round. With the crowd chanting “Bobby, Bobby” in encouragement, Rooney tried to rally, but it was to no avail, as Hemphill won a unanimous 39-37 decision from all three judges.
Another local product, Wayne Johnsen of Lyndhurst, also suffered a loss, losing via a six-round decision to Joe Hill of Detroit in a super middleweight bout.
Promising welterweight Henry Crawford of Paterson won via a first round knockout, with a thunderous right hand that wobbled Tony Grygelko of Minnesota. Undefeated welterweight Joel Julio of Colombia won by a fourth round knockout over Hicklet Lau of Miami.
The main event was won by top featherweight contender Jason Litzau of St. Paul, Minn., who defeated Miguel Munguia of Mexico.
Bringing boxing back Carl Moretti, the president of Main Events, was pleased to bring boxing back to North Bergen.
“It’s great for many reasons,” Moretti said. “For one, North Bergen has always been a hotbed for boxing, going back to the days of Jim Braddock and now, with the popularity of ‘Cinderella Man,’ it made more sense to come back. There are so many boxing fans, both hidden and out there, in North Bergen. It’s a lot to ask people to go to Atlantic City to watch boxing. This event is cheaper and still as exciting.”
Moretti was so pleased with the event that he has already booked the next Schuetzen Park card for Feb. 10.
“It’s done,” Moretti said. “Mark it down. We’re taking it one step at a time, getting the word out that we’re back. If everyone can tell just one friend we have boxing back, then that night will be a great night as well. We’re developing talent and people are getting the chance to see the next stars in their own backyard. This show did a little bit better than I expected. I didn’t expect this kind of intensity and excitement from the first round. I was surprised.”