Donofrio/Palace Reviving Michigan Boxing!

Michigan promoter puts innovative approach to increasing boxing fan base into action on October 20, 2006 at Palace of Auburn Hills.

A lifelong fan, Michigan boxing promoter Joseph Donofrio, says he started doing professional boxing shows a couple years ago, in an effort to revive the sport in Detroit.

"My dream was to fill the seats with fans and to get them reacquainted with boxing and the exciting fighters from the area. Get them interested again by putting local boxers in exciting fights. It worked in the 1980s. I used to go to the fights during the Thomas Hearns era and every show was a sellout, every fighter was a local celebrity and the city took pride in being one of the world's premier locations for professional boxing."

But when he decided to promote his own shows and get involved, Donofrio says things had changed dramatically. "Half empty shows, the fans had no idea who was fighting or what their story was. It was disgraceful."

So, Donofrio set out trying to change things. He started by upping the quality of the match-ups at his Donofrio Boxing events. "You would go to a show in Detroit and the left side of the bout sheet won every fight, often by first-round knockout," he explains. "People don't want to watch set-ups and easy wins. They want to see competitive fights. It's no use inflating some local kid's record with easy wins anyway. They get destroyed when they try to graduate to the world stage."

Next came the addition of a seemingly dead tradition. "I wanted to start offering a program book to fans. I felt like they might get more interested in the show if they knew who was boxing and why they were boxing. I think the Contender TV show works because they are successful at showing each fighter's motivation and personality. So, I offer a program book that gives people something they can take home and read and get to know the fighters from their city."

And now comes phase three of his plan: offer general admission seats for free. "New fans, the ones we're hoping to attract, don't try a night of boxing by buying a ringside seat. They get a general admission ticket and bring their families and see if they like it. We know that many of them will fall in love with boxing the way I did once upon a time, so why not offer them that chance for free? Try a night of boxing on me. I think it's a great way to create the boxing fans we need to keep this sport alive in the area."

And so on October 20, 2006, at the Palace of Auburn Hills, Donofrio will open the doors to his "Ring Kings of the Palace" event, free of charge for general admission seats. "You can go to http://donofrioboxing.com/fightnewsvoucher.html and download a ticket. It's that easy. We're doing this in conjunction with FightNews.com and we're hoping to see a full house that night. 10,000 fans that go home happy with the quality of the show and the excitement. If they enjoy themselves that night and get to know the fighters they watched, we think it'll be easier to get them to come back for the next one."

Fans are invited to download a free voucher and show up on fight night. For a small charge ($10), they can upgrade to premium reserve seating as well. "Come on out, the tickets are on me. Bring your friends. Bring your family." Show starts at 8:00 pm.