Rumble in Palm Beach July 21, 2018: West Palm Beach, FL

UnderGround Cage Fighting Championship brought an event to the Palm Beach Convention Center on Saturday night. It provided a awesome fight card and all who attended seemed pleased with the result. There were about a dozen fights on the card, most of which provided some action. A handful of rear-naked chokes and triangular chokes, a few decisions, and one knockout later, the event appeared to be a success. Several sponsors provided a boost, the National Anthem was sung beautifully, and former two-time Heavyweight Champion of the World, Riddick Bowe, was even in attendance, signing autographs and taking pictures with all who had asked. Everyone appeared to mange his/her way through the concession lines with little issue, and I didn’t see a single fight amongst the fans in attendance. Frank Morejon did a excellent job putting together this event, and Brian Tilley, of the Florida State Boxing Commission, did equally as well keeping it on track.

Known as “The Colombian Necktie”, José Cortes, who also doubles-up as a professional boxer, provided the crowd with the lone knockout of the night, putting down Martin Castro @ 3:55 of Round #2. The KO amassed a great roar from the crowd, who had been waiting to see exactly that type of action. A close second to this was the performance by Miami’s Luis Marquez of American Top Team, who landed some devastating punches from a very advantageous position and won after the referee was forced to stop the bout due to strikes. The end came @ 2:55 of Round #1 after a good 10-12 seconds of one-sided punching. Many others were up for their contest, as well. Some were successful. Others were disappointed. In the end, it was an event worthy of repetition. I look forward to catching up with the group at its next go-around, which is scheduled for November at the same location.

Mike Feinberg TFN Reporter