Fight For The Falls Photo Gallery
Can Niagara Falls become a new centre for boxing action in North America? Lennox Lewis and Les Woods of Global Legacy Boxing believe so.
“[The city] has all the attributes that it needs,” Lewis told reporters prior to last night’s fight card at the Scotiabank Convention Centre. “Everyone wants to come here, always enjoys coming here.”
Indeed, the logic behind the initiative is compelling. Niagara Falls will always be a popular tourist destination with great restaurants, museums, night life, a 24 hour casino, top hotels and, of course, the falls. Think the Las Vegas of the north and you’ll be of one mind with promoter Woods and everyone involved in last night’s inaugural Global Legacy fight card, the first major boxing event staged in Niagara Falls in decades.
“We’re going to hold cards four times a year,” declared Woods. “I predict Niagara Falls will become the boxing mecca of Canada within the next 24 months.”
Big talk, maybe, but with the full backing of the city and its tourism industry, not to mention Lewis, definitely not empty words.
And thus it made perfect sense to feature Niagara native and welterweight contender Phil Lo Greco as the headliner of last night’s seven fight card and the city responded with a sell-out crowd. The former WBC International champion hadn’t competed in almost a full year and was 2-3 in his last five matches with losses to Shawn Porter and Errol Spence Jr., so a victory in his hometown was crucial. And that’s what Lo Greco gave local fight fans as he scored a decision over Mexico’s Jesus Gurrola (24-12-3) to get back in the win column and start moving his career forward again.
Ace photographer Jeff Lockhart was ringside for all the action and once again we’re proud to feature his stellar work with a photo gallery from last night’s “Fight For The Falls” event, hopefully the first of many boxing cards to be staged in Niagara Falls. Which, if Les Woods and Lennox Lewis get their way, may soon prove to be “The Fight City” of Ontario. Check it out: