STEVE’S SOAPBOX
Marco Antonio Barrera stopped Paulie Ayala in 10 rounds.
Antonio Barrera-Paulie Ayala in 2004 having a rather mediocre turnout. A 2006 show topped by Jhonny Gonzalez-Fernando Montiel also drew a sparse crowd. It really wasn’t until 2007, with an anticipated welterweight matchup between Paul Williams and Antonio Margarito, that the modest tennis arena took off and branded itself as a bona fide boxing venue. Behind the promotional efforts of the late Dan Goossen, they were able to sell over 7,000 tickets. The stadium has a capacity of around 8,000, and to that point it was by far their largest crowd for a boxing event. The next year, the soccer stadium hosted Oscar De La Hoya-Steve Forbes, in what turned out to be The Golden Boy’s last professional victory. But perhaps the most important and magical night for what was then called the Home Depot Center (later changed to the StubHub Center, and then the Dignity Health Sports Park) happened on March 1, 2008. It was on this night that Israel Vazquez-Rafael Marquez III took place, with the two Mexicans waging war until the final bell. It was a last- second knockdown that gave Vazquez a razor-thin split decision in defense of the Ring Magazine/WBC 122-pound championship. In the immediate aftermath, the buzz in that place was palpable. Everyone who was there that evening, from the fighters’ families to Sylvester Stallone and Jack Nicholson, didn’t leave for a good 20 minutes. The “StubHub” was cemented as a fight hub, and the atmosphere and mystique only grew from there. Soon a succession of Ring Magazine Fight of the Year winners would be held at the outdoor venue – from Tim Bradley-Ruslan Provodnikov (2013) to Lucas Matthysse-John Molina (2014) to Orlando Salido-Francisco Vargas (2016).
AN ODE TO THE WAR GROUNDS By Steve Kim
A s the summer boxing schedule gets filled in, one thing is very noticeable to me as a native of Los Angeles: the dearth of big fight cards that are taking place in Southern California. There was a time when boxing regularly played to large crowds at venues like the Olympic Auditorium, the Fabulous Forum and the Los Angeles Sports Arena. Believe it or not, there was a time when boxing was as big as the Dodgers, Rams and Lakers in the city. In the 21st century, a particular venue in Carson became a consistent destination for fights. Located on
the campus of Cal State University Dominguez Hills, the Dignity Health Sports Park’s tennis stadium is known for much more than just serves and volleys. It became a modern-day gladiator pit. This venue – which also includes a soccer stadium, a track-and-field facility and a velodrome – opened in 2003 and hosted its first boxing card that summer. It was Diego Corrales stopping Damian Fuller in the main event of an ESPN2 Friday Night Fights telecast. But in truth, it took a while for this place to catch on with fight fans. I still recall a card headlined by Marco
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