The dimly lit historic Gray’s Armory located near the corner of Bolivar and Prospect in downtown Cleveland seemed to fit the mood as I added up the losses from my inaugural show. After the two day Toughman style tournament I somberly sat with my then fiancee Amy and some Cleveland Police Officers. We watched the laboring owners of the boxing ring as they loaded up their truck with no motivation to assist the men. One cop who stopped in to chat with his partners joked “There were more cops then fans at this thing.” Quickly a somewhat intimidating looking cop I was sitting with introduced me as the event promoter in an effort to stop the wise cracks before they got out of control. I sat in the eerie venue and thought about how I should have known what a disaster I was in for when my ring girls were two hours late. I thought about how I was completely caught off guard when the usually bashful Amy grabbed a round card while climbing in the ring out of desperation to fill in for the vacant ring girls. (she actually looked like she did it before) I could hear my brothers whistling and laughing through the virtually nonexistent crowd. The ring announcer joked that he didn’t even need a microphone to be heard. I sat and mentally scraped for all the positives I could salvage from the financial debacle. I kept telling myself that the event was an investment and immeasurable learning experience. I thought about how I kept my word of paying the four winners $1000 each despite an obviously whopping loss on the event. I couldn’t stop thinking on how determined I was to improve. When the final numbers were tallied I thought of it as roughly a $20,000 learning experience. (I didn’t even ask for a gov’t bailout) I thought to myself that the event was actually well run except for the lack of attendance. Ever since that depressing summer night I’m still grabbing positives from what many thought was the end of Explosive Fight Promotions before we even got started. Two positive examples were fighters from the tournament James Rankin and Trahmane Dawson. Both eventually fought for me as professional boxers. Another Chris Graham is my mixed martial arts 125 pound champion. Graham competes for me regularly and should be turning pro within a year.
That 2007 summer night I was knocked down hard. When most thought I would quit I got back up to become one of the busiest promoters in the country in 2008. (with a lot of help) On April 4th in Barberton Oh my underdog story continues with Caged Madness 9. We have people from all walks of life competing and attending. I personally sold a ticket to a guy that was simultaneously cleaning a toilet. I also was informed that a State Representative would be in attendance. Very different people with the common appreciation of the abilities mentally and physically of the men we call cage fighters. Come see them live and in person! We need you
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When you make the calculated decision to reach in your pocket and buy a ticket to an athletic event you just never know what you might be part of. This was the case when I attended Streetsboro High School’s district final game last week. I was a 1996 graduate of the then small community located about 25 miles southeast of Cleveland. Now in 2009 I was a witness to Streetsboro’s Robert Wilson sinking a short put back as time expired to give the Rockets their first district basketball championship ever. The bucket gave Streetsboro a 77-75 victory over Poland Oh High School. The Streetsboro side of the capacity filled gymnasium was bedlam as coaches and players celebrated. Some with tears of joy in their eyes. When I decided to attend the game I had no idea I would witness the best game I’ve ever seen at the High School level. That game quite possibly will be more memorable to the people involved than this years NBA Finals will be to its participants.
As a kid I vividly remember sitting in the general admission section near the left field foul pole at the old Cleveland Municipal Stadium. This particular day I had no idea I would be within approximately ten feet of a man heckling Cleveland Indian leftfielder Albert Belle. The man obviously got to Belle with his continued verbal tirade. I cringed as the rough looking man wearing a tan shirt and camouflage pants continued with his keg party invitations to the recovering alcoholic Belle. While warming up between innings Belle turned towards the man and shockingly unleashed a fastball in his direction. Belle’s throw struck the alcohol impaired heckler in the chest. The incident later received national media attention. These are just two very different examples of incidents I had no idea I would be part of when I decided to attend those athletic events.
On April 4th in Barberton Oh explosivefightpromotions.com will be hosting an athletic event where men will compete against one another in a steel cage. It’s possible we will see a future star. We might see a double knockout, or someone might beat our record of a 6 second knockout. Maybe we will see a phenomenal display of athleticism. A ring girl could always have a wardrobe malfunction or maybe we will somehow make The Best Damn Sports Show 50 most outrageous moments. I guess that’s why we go. You just never know.

As I sat quietly in a doctor’s office located in a Cleveland suburb I couldn’t help but notice an obese middle-aged woman shaking her head in disgust. The woman was watching a mixed martial arts highlight that appeared briefly on the waiting room television. I chuckled to myself wondering what this obviously unapproving woman would say about the short fight clip. Not surprisingly the bold woman broke the usual waiting room silence by saying “those guys should be put in prison”. After hesitating briefly I couldn’t help but politely ask “why is that exactly”? She quickly and adamantly replied “two muscle guys beating the brains out of each other should not be allowed!” With near perfect timing the MMA trained doctor who we were both waiting on to help with our various ailments spotted me in the waiting room and excitedly requested two tickets to my next MMA promotion. The woman had no idea I was a fight promoter. I replied to the doctor in close quarters to the objecting woman “You must be one of those muscle guys that gets the brains beat out of him.” The woman looked at me perplexed as I simply said “that’s your doctor”. This is just one example of many where an ordinary observer is educated on the quality of people involved in the world of mixed martial arts. A short time later as I was leaving the office I was stopped by an old friend who asked me about a high speed pursuit I had the week prior at work. Now the woman knew I was a law enforcement officer as well. Surely she realized that I would have a pretty good idea on who needs to go to prison and who doesn’t in response to her belief that MMA fighters should be put in prison. I was not at all bothered by the negative views of the woman but I must admit I found great humor in the irony of that office visit. I later found out that the woman in general displays a “mad at the world” persona. I also learned that she is a local school teacher and probably a very good one at that. With her being an educator I will make sure next time I don’t tell her about all I have learned from fighting that serves me everyday in the “real” world. Such as, hard work, dedication, and the importance of confidence. I will refrain from telling her how much I learned about myself from facing adversity and being down. I always got up! (sometimes a little wobbly)
Our next event will feature a lawyer, two cops, a fireman, and several “muscle guys”. The event will be in the blue collar city of Barberton Oh near Akron. Check out explosivefightpromotions.com for more information. If you make it out to the event keep an open mind because you might find yourself cheering for a neighbor, your mailman, or maybe even your own doctor.