Ballroom Boxing Celebrates 50th Show Tonight!

08.05 - The greatest boxing club show in the U.S. celebrates a golden milestone TONIGHT! Thursday, May 8, at Michael's Eighth Avenue in Glen Burnie, MD. "BALLROOM BOXING" will be presenting its 50th show in a series that started in 1995.

"Ballroom Boxing" is more than just a club show, it is a lifestyle! Or as Thom Loverro, columnist for The Washington Times, stated in a column on the show, "…Babes, beers and boxing…it's a mixture that has been drawing a large and devoted audience for over six years…"

The architect of this Maryland phenomenon is Scott Wagner, 34, who has made competitive fights the norm, NOT the exception, show after show after show.

"The bottom line is that my crowd wants to be entertained and they are not going to be entertained seeing one-sided blowouts," said Wagner. "When managers or promoters book a fight on a Ballroom Boxing card, they know their fighter is in a real fight. That is the only kind of fight I will book. A knockdown drag-out, 'pick 'em-style fight."

Wagner is able to make this style of matches because he has no vested interest in any fighters. "We have no direct involvement with the fighter by design. Our mandate to our patrons is to provide great fights. We have no conflict of interest. Hell, we are fans too. We all want to see great fights!"

And it's not just the fans at Michael's Eighth Avenue who see the great Ballroom Boxing fights, millions of loyal viewers around the world do too. In fact, Wagner has syndicated the show to 60 different TV markets in the U.S. and overseas on major network outlets, including: the Sunshine Network (Florida-5 million homes plus satellite), the Empire Sports Network (Upstate NY-one million homes), New England Sports Network (New England states-5 million homes), Comcast Sports Network-Philadelphia (3.5 million homes), Comcast Sports Network-Mid-Atlantic (4.5 million homes), FOX Sports International (Middle East-800,000 homes), Urban American Network (70 cities-22 million homes nationwide), American Forces Television (177 countries-800,000 homes), Comcast Sports South (southeastern region-3.1 million homes), UPN 27, WCVI (St. Croix, St. Thomas, St. John - 110,000 homes) The shows, which are hosted by WestwoodOne Radio's Larry Michael, USA Today's Jon Saraceno, and boxing columnist John Scheinman, outdraw FOX Sports Net's "Sunday Night Fights" in several of the major markets.

This Thursday's show features in the main event, Ballroom Boxing favorite, Darnell "The Ding-a-Ling Man" Wilson, 11-1-1 against Charles "Rasheed" Lee, 16-11-2, in a 10-round light-heavyweight rumble. Wilson will have his hands full with Lee, who since starting out 3-9, has gone 13-2-2 in his last 17 bouts, including victories over Kady King and Etienne Whitaker.

The undercard will feature undefeated Turkish Olympian, Nurhan Suleymonglu, 9-0. Suleymonglu boasts amateur victories over reiging undisputed world jr. welterweight champion Kostya Tszyu, and former world title challenger Otkay Urkal. He'll be taking on tough-as-nails Ernest Stroehman, 9-6-1, in a six-round jr. welterweight bout.

The seven-bout card will also be highlighted with a six round middleweight bout pitting undefeated Rasheem Brown, 9-0, from Philadelphia, PA., in his first solid test, against Leon Pearson, 11-7-2.

Celebrities already confirmed to attend include: Baltimore Colts great Lenny Moore, members of the Washington Redskins, ESPN2's Max Kellerman, and Bert Randolph Sugar.

A limited amount of tickets are still available. To purchase, call Ballroom Boxing at (410) 766-7474.