Can’t compete with Busch’s big bash
By Alvin A. Reid of the American
The St. Louis Cardinals heavyweight weekend has helped knock out Don King Productions’ boxing card scheduled for September 30 at the Savvis Center.
The first of the final three regular-season games at Busch Stadium is that same Friday, and the entire three-game series is sold out.
According to a Savvis spokesperson, “a lack of sufficient promotional time and competition from professional sports teams” led to postponement of a Sept. 30 boxing event in St. Louis.
Convinced that the card could be successful even with a quick turnaround time, Don King was in St. Louis on Sept. 7 to announce the card, which featured three title bouts.
The card was to have featured a minimum of three world championship matches: Virgil “Quicksilver” Hill vs. undefeated No. 1 contender Valery Brudov for the World Boxing Association cruiserweight title; World Boxing Association junior middleweight champion Daniel Santos defending his belt against undefeated North American Boxing Organization champion Joe Wyatt; and International Boxing Federation junior bantamweight champion Luis “El Demoledor” Perez facing Hugo “Rambo” Ramirez.
“With a busy fall sports calendar and a short window before Sept. 30, the fight didn’t make the immediate impact with the public that we had hoped for,” said Savvis Center Sr. Vice President and General Manager Dennis Petrullo.
“After staging one of the most successful boxing events in history in February, we decided it would be best to postpone this card and reschedule it after we find a better date to present the event. Savvis Center remains committed to boxing and looks forward to announcing a new date soon.”
The Spinks-Judah card was Feb. 5 and was held while the National Hockey League was still in a lockout. The Cardinals Spring Training was just getting underway and the only game left in the NFL season was the Super Bowl on Feb. 6.
All tickets for the postponed card will be refunded at the original point of purchase.
For all tickets purchased by phone or online, Ticketmaster will automatically issue a refund. If you do not receive a refund from Ticketmaster, please make a copy of the tickets for your records and mail the original tickets to:
Customer Service/Ticketmaster, Northgate Business Park, 1000 Corporate Landing, Charleston, W.Va., 25311
Please include the name of the credit card holder and the confirmation number.
The inaugural card of the “Friday Night Fights” series is still set for Oct. 21 and will feature St. Louis’ own Devon Alexander.
