WILLIE Broadie pinned Michael Rothberg up against the ropes and caught him in the face with a handy right. Peering up from my reporter's ringside seat, I felt a droplet land on my arm. It was blood.

This was sporting entertainment at its rawest.

Judging by the thousand or so spectators packed into the CedarBridge gym last Saturday night, Bermuda has an appetite for it.

The last-minute change of venue from BAA Field due to rain did nothing to diminish the enthusiasm of fight fans there to witness a bill featuring local favourite Teresa Perozzi, as well as a bout for the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title.

The seasoned MC set the place buzzing with his opening remarks delivered in immaculate, ready-to-rumble, dulcet tones: "This is not a public library. This is not a PGA Tour event. You can yell and holler all you want."

He cranked up the excitement level further by introducing Bermuda's own boxing hero and our only Olympic medallist, Clarence Hill.

As Hill stepped into the ring, he received a standing ovation and the biggest roar of the night. The message was clear and very, very loud: Hall of Fame selection committee, you screwed up.

After all that, the early bouts ranged from farcical to frantic.

The first fell into the former category.

It was the heavyweight slog between Broadie and Rothberg, and it was Broadie who became the first fighter of the night to hit the canvas ? floored by himself. Rothberg stepped aside as Broadie wound himself up and lunged into a haymaker that made contact with only thin air, leaving him prostrate.

As the fight went on, one or two of those agricultural swipes made contact with Rothberg, who just about survived the four rounds with blood streaming from his nose.

The frantic element emerged in the controversial clash between Perozzi and Monika Nunez from the Dominican Republic. Perozzi, pumped up by the home support, took the fight to her opponent from the opening bell, forcing her on to the ropes with fists flying like pistons.

The downside was that in flailing at Nunez, Perozzi relinquished her guard, giving the Dominican girl a chance to land a few clean shots. And the early flurry also took its toll in terms of energy in the later stages of the fight when Nunez looked to have more left in the tank.

Nunez won on a unanimous points decision, much to Perozzi's ? and the crowd's ? chagrin.

The clash between heavyweights Vinny Maddalone and Joe Lenart was not for the faint-hearted.

The gargantuan, 316-pound figure of Lenart may have had an 85-pound weight advantage over his opponent, but it was the bigger man who ended up taking a tremendous beating.

Maddalone looked in top-class physical condition, but knocking over his man mountain of an opponent proved problematic.

At times Lenart made himself a human punchbag, guarding his head but allowing Maddalone to land a barrage of body blows.

In the fifth round, a huge right Maddalone uppercut caught Lenart's jaw, forcing a standing count and then the referee stopped it. The giant was finally conquered.

The theme to struck up when one Michael Corleone entered the arena. The American super middleweight proved not to be nearly as ruthless as his film character namesake as he lost out to countryman Tim O'Neill in a fifth-round stoppage.

In the first women's bout of the night Cindy Serrano gained a split decision victory over Shakura Witherspoon to maintain her unbeaten record.

The top-of-the-bill fight produced the night's classiest exhibition of pugilism from Nigerian-born Canadian David Defiagbon. The Olympic silver medallist wore down Texan Ron Guerrero with persistent left jabs and occasional big rights, capitalising on his superior reach and speed.

It was great to watch though it probably didn't look too good from Guerrero's viewpoint.

So the fans weren't too happy when the referee stopped it in the fifth round after Defiagbon connected with a big right. True, Guerrero had not been knocked over and did not even get a standing count, but the award of the WBA belt to Defiagbon appeared to be just a matter of time.

Boxing is a sport which seems to have a large Bermuda following prepared to fork out a fist-full of dollars for a night's entertainment.

Let's hope the support is strong enough to support more fight nights like this.