There's something about walking into the Lowell Memorial Auditorium that's like a step back in time.
The building, located on the banks of the Concord River a short distance from the Merrimack River, is about to turn 100 years old. It's a terrific place to see a concert. I've seen Bruce Springsteen sing and Robin Williams tell jokes there.
With a capacity around 2,500, there are no bad seats in the house.
There's nothing, however, like seeing amateur boxing in the building. The Golden Gloves held their latest Thursday night card last night and I was in the house with a friend, Jon Kinson, who drove nearly an hour to watch amateur boxers duke it out.
There's a sense of history at the Lowell Memorial Auditorium. Marvin Hagler and Sugar Ray Leonard sharpened their skills there. Mike Tyson stepped into the ring before he was the baddest man on the planet.
Locally, the boxing pride of Lowell, Micky Ward, brought fans out of their seats during his Golden Gloves days. Micky wasn't in attendance Thursday, but he's sure to be back next week.
The best fight of the night was a women's bout. The crowd went wild when both fighters threw haymakers for three minutes straight. "There's no way they can keep that up," I yelled to Jon, my voice struggling to rise above the noise.
Well, they did. Both fighters continued to throw non-stop punches as the bell to the second round ended. When the final second of the third round ended, most of the crowd stood up and roared with approval. What a fight. No championship belt on the line. No stacks of money as incentive. No television lights.
Just two amateur fighters giving it everything they have in front of an estimated crowd of 1,500. It's been years, hell, decades, since I attended the Golden Gloves. I'll be back. The Gloves are held each Thursday, beginning at 7:30 p.m., until mid-March. Do yourself a favor, check it out.
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