By: Sean Crose
Houdini had performed on the stage. So had the Grateful Dead. So had Pink Floyd. Rumor was that the first time Queen played Bohemian Rhapsody in America it was on that very stage. There was no doubt about it, the Palace Theater in Waterbury Connecticut had quite a history. It had never – at least until this night, however – hosted live boxing. In fact, Waterbury itself hadn’t had a live boxing card in just under 50 years. That’s quite a period of time. Willie Pep may have once fought in front of 20,000 people in Waterbury… but that was decades ago. On Saturday night however, boxing returned to what was once called The Brass City. The Palace Theater which usually hosted musicals and concerts was set up with a fully functioning boxing ring.
One of the reasons thousands were gathered on Saturday was to see a local fighter, Mike “The “Savage” Kimbel, who at the very least passed the eye test. Possessing an impressive probing jab that would set up a powerful straight, right, the man had gone without losing a fight when he slipped between the ropes to face Edgar DeLeon the end of the evening’s card. Indeed he held a record of 8-0 with five knockouts.
Yet it was clear DeLeon wasn’t coming all the way up from Florida to lose. That being said, Kimbel was oozing confidence in the lead-up for the bout. Fighting in front of his hometown no doubt motivated the Waterbury native. The local crowd suffice to say was electric. It had been fed a number of of brutal stoppages leading up to the main event. The expectations were now that Kimbel would not only defeat D seee Leon…. but would beat him in grand fashion. Being the hometown fighter right now was a tough order to fill.
And indeed the first round was an insane affair. After knocking down his opponent Kimbel himself ended up getting knocked down. Not once but twice. Clearly dazed the man appeared to be in some serious trouble. Still he was able to survive the round. The second round saw Kimbel serve himself by jabbing and focusing on keeping himself from getting hit. Still it was dangerous. DeLeon was one shot away from seriously harming his man. By the third Kimbel was well in control. Still he had to be mindful of DeLeone’s power shots, which would clearly be an issue for the remainder of the fight.By the 4th it was clear that DeLeon was beaten badly. Kimbel continued dishing out the punishment in the 5th and it was worth wondering how long DeLeon would last. The sixth again belonged to Kimbel. DeLeon, however, to his credit, was giving it his all. DeLeon even did his best Jake LaMotta impersonation in the 6th by asking his opponent to move in. Was he simply letting Kimbel nail him over and over again, hoping for a counter punch that wasn’t coming. The 7th was target practice for Kimbel.
By the time the 8th and final round came about, it was clear that Kimbel was going to win the fight. The question was could he end it early?And indeed he did. Beating DeLeon near senseless Kimbel was finally given his victory within the distance when the referee wisely stepped in and stopped the fight.
The crowd at the Palace Theater was explosive. Thrilled. Aside from the Huskies, you don’t get a whole lot of local sports love in Connecticut. No doubt a certain “Savage”fighter from Waterbury aims to change all that. For now though, Kimbel can sit back and enjoy his hard earned victory.
