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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; When you go to a ballroom, you usually see people dancing.</p><p>That was again the case Saturday night at Genetti&#8217;s Hotel and Conference Center, except the dancing was in a ring and in between there were plenty of punches being thrown.</p><p>Northeast Boxing Promotions hosted what it billed as the &#8220;largest boxing card Wilkes-Barre has seen in decades.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;I think Wilkes-Barre is a boxing town,&#8221; said PA Championship Boxing promoter Chris Coyne. &#8220;It&#8217;s a blue collar town. This is where the best events take place.&#8221;</p><p>All in all, there were 16 pro-am fights &#8212; six professional, 10 amateur.</p><p>&#8220;We have all the best amateur fighters from the tri-state area,&#8221; Coyne added. &#8220;Some of them are the top-ranked fighters in their weight classes.&#8221;</p><p>He continued: &#8220;This card should be on HBO, ESPN and Showtime Championship Boxing. There are six fighters on the card in both the professional and amateur ranks with undefeated records. If that isn&#8217;t enough to get novice fans in the seats, nothing will.&#8221;</p><p>The weather cooperated for Joseph James Gallagher to attend this year&#8217;s bouts.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll always come back to see boxing, especially in Wilkes-Barre,&#8221; said Gallagher, 33, who came all the way from Springfield, Massachusetts. &#8220;At least I didn&#8217;t get stuck in 19-hour traffic on I-84 from the snow (like I did last year.)</p><p>&#8220;To know boxing is coming back to the area means a lot because it gave me an outlet and saved my life as well as other children,&#8221; he added.</p><p>Gallagher is a former boxer from Wilkes-Barre and Coughlin graduate.</p><p>With the rising popularity of mixed martial arts, he wondered if the sport would survive.</p><p>&#8220;Even at the highest level, everything was about MMA,&#8221; Gallagher, a USA Boxing level 3 instructor noted. &#8220;But boxing is making a comeback. People come back to the sport when boxing has talented fighters to showcase. Each decade, boxing has its revitalizations.&#8221;</p><p>Coyne shared the same sentiment.</p><p>&#8220;We are trying to re-grow it locally,&#8221; Coyne said. &#8220;It wasn&#8217;t many years ago when we were up in Scranton doing the Friday Night Fights on ESPN in front of 4,500 people. But because of the lack of local talent the past few years, that went to the wayside and everyone started turning to MMA.&#8221;</p><p>Coyne hopes to get major networks to come back to the area to showcase local fighters.</p><p>&#8220;I think boxing is making a slow steady comeback because it&#8217;s on mainstream television again,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We are in talks with the major networks to get some of these fights on television.&#8221;</p><p><strong>&#8216;Love to see it&#8217;</strong></p><p>Gallagher was very pleased with the turnout of approximately 1,000 people.</p><p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t see this on your average Friday or Saturday night show,&#8221; he said. &#8220;You get a lot of hungry fighters and when you have a lineup card like tonight, they are equally hungry and talented which makes for a great bout.&#8221;</p><p>The promotional card featured local fighters plus those from as far away as Mexico.</p><p>Scranton natives Rocky Marzan (11-0) and Ryan Wilczak (7-0) entered with undefeated records, drawing quite a stir from the crowd.</p><p>Larry Wynne made the short trek down Interstate 81 to support the local products.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve watched Ryan grow up,&#8221; said Wynne, 38, of Scranton. &#8220;It was worth the 15 minute hike.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s great to have boxing back in the area,&#8221; he added. &#8220;You love to see it.&#8221;</p><p>Tickets for Saturday&#8217;s venue ranged from $45 to $75.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Will Mosteller lands a punch on Fernando Arroyo during their 159-pound bout Saturday in the Grand Ball Room at Genetti&#8217;s Hotel and Convention Center in Wilkes-Barre. The card featured 16 professional and amateur fights. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_boxing3_faa-1-.jpg</photo0><caption0>Will Mosteller lands a punch on Fernando Arroyo during their 159-pound bout Saturday in the Grand Ball Room at Genetti&#8217;s Hotel and Convention Center in Wilkes-Barre. The card featured 16 professional and amateur fights. </caption0><photoCredit0>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_boxing4_faa-1-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Approximately 1,000 boxing fans turned out for a 16-fight card at Genetti&#8217;s in downtown Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_boxing4_faa-1-.jpg</photo1><caption1>Approximately 1,000 boxing fans turned out for a 16-fight card at Genetti&#8217;s in downtown Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_boxing5_faa-1-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Shane Kerrigan takes a jab at Hector Miranda during their 185-pound amateur fight Saturday at Genetti&#8217;s during Saturday&#8217;s well-attended boxing card. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_boxing5_faa-1-.jpg</photo2><caption2>Shane Kerrigan takes a jab at Hector Miranda during their 185-pound amateur fight Saturday at Genetti&#8217;s during Saturday&#8217;s well-attended boxing card. </caption2><photoCredit2>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit2></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_boxing2_faa-1-.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Shane Kerrigan, left, and Hector Miranda exchange blows in the 185-pound class bout at Genetti&#8217;s Hotel and Convention Center during Saturday&#8217;s boxing card. A promoter billed it as the &#8216;largest boxing card Wilkes-Barre has seen in decades.&#8217; </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo3>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_boxing2_faa-1-.jpg</photo3><caption3>Shane Kerrigan, left, and Hector Miranda exchange blows in the 185-pound class bout at Genetti&#8217;s Hotel and Convention Center during Saturday&#8217;s boxing card. A promoter billed it as the &#8216;largest boxing card Wilkes-Barre has seen in decades.&#8217; </caption3><photoCredit3>Fred Adams | For Times Leader </photoCredit3></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Genetti&#8217;s hosts 16 pro-am bouts</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Dan Stokes</p><p>dstokes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Dan Stokes at 570-991-6389 or on Twitter @ByDanStokes</p></shirttailMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><videoMeta><p><table style="border:none;width:98%;" class="mceItemTable"><tbody><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;"></td><td id="videoid" style="width:50em;font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;"></p><p></td><td id="videotype" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;"></td><td id="url" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Embed String:</td><td id="videoembedstring" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Caption:</td><td id="videocaption" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Credit:</td><td id="videocredit" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="font-weight:bold;font-size:100%;vertical-align:top;text-align:right;border:none;">Video Position:</td><td id="videoposition" style="font-size:90%;"> </td></tr></tbody></table></p></videoMeta></div>

Local boxing returns with a bang: Genetti’s hosts 16 bouts