"Fight Night" Pre-Party in Washington, D.C. 2009

I recently had the opportunity to go to the "2009 Fight Night Pre-Party" in Washington, D.C. The event celebrated some of boxing legends and greats! To see these legends up close and personal was an awesome experience. Although I am not an avid boxing fan, I enjoyed watching my share of Ali v. Anybody fights back in the day.

At the event to be recognized were:
- Jake LaMotta (Bronx Bull and Ragin' Bull)
- Boom Boom Mancini
- Smokin' Joe Frasier
- Buster Douglas
- Ken Norton
- Jerry Clooney
- Ernie Schaeffer

Some of these legends were still in pretty good shape. For example, when Frasier was introduced, he came on stage throwing left and right hooks. While, on the other hand, a couple of them needed assistance walking and one was even in a wheelchair as a result of his many, many years of boxing and taking hits.

Also in the house was ex- Redskins Brain Mitchell and all of his bulging muscles. He was very sociable and sweet. He came over to the table were I was with some friends and talked with us for a few minutes like we’d known each other for a while.

One the celebrity side, I had the opportunity to talk to Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds for a few minutes. He was very quiet and noticeably shy, but he was up for fan photo-ops and talked to everyone who approached him.

I also had the opportunity to talk to Patty Austin (R&B & Jazz legend) and held her purse while she made her appearance on stage. I was actually talking to Patty for about five minutes without realizing who she was. Patty was working the room and was bubbly and vivacious. She said to me during our conversation, “. . . you look like someone I know, where are you from?” I said “. . . I’m pretty sure I’ve never met you, so maybe you’ve met my “other.”

All in all, it was an exiting evening. When I was first invited, I had no idea what kind of event I was going to, but nothing could have prepared me for what was in store.

Written by screenname TriniDiva (a.k.a NSL-R)