Boxing is going under the Big Top.
Sham-Rock Bash & Brawl, an event featuring an amateur boxing card followed by a concert, is set for July 17 under a tent outside Genetti Manor in Dickson City.
Promoter Doug Long was planning an outdoor show because COVID-19 guidelines were less restrictive for outdoor events than indoor ones.
“I had an outdoor event in mind but I just didn’t know because regulations were changing all the time,” he said. “It has changed rapidly with the vaccinations. All of sudden we’re hearing no masks by this event in July and we were shocked. I think by July people will be more comfortable coming out, especially for an outdoor event.”
The six-peak tent measuring 60 feet by 100 feet will be set up in Genetti’s auxiliary parking lot, which is located on the right side of the building. The grass and gravel lot is mostly surrounded by trees and shrubs and temporary fencing will be erected to fill in the gaps. The boxing ring will be set up on the left side of the tent with the concert stage on the right. All the seating and concession areas will be under the tent.
Long recently worked with a tent of this size at a show he helped promote in May in Eyre Park in Chester.
“When I was approached to promote a show in Chester, I already had the tent company in mind for my show here,” he said. “I didn’t have this big of a tent in mind but when I promoted the Chester show with this size tent, it really gave me insight that I can do a concert and I can do a boxing event all in one.”
The boxing card will begin at 2 p.m. and feature local amateurs Shawn McFadden, Rocco Cordaro, Nick D’Amico, Jim Babkowski and Kiven Soto. The concert by the Kilmaine Saints, a Celtic rock band based in Harrisburg, will begin at 6. Tickets, which range from $35 to $45, will be good for both events.
There will be 416 tickets sold for seating around the ring plus general admission tickets with an expected capacity of 700-800.
“My sponsors asked me to keep the ticket prices low so everyone can come out,” Long said. “We want everyone to have a really great summer and this is like the kickoff.”
Herb Smith is a sports clerk and the voice that greets most people calling the Times-Tribune sports department. A lifelong resident of Scranton, Herb graduated from Penn State University with a bachelor’s degree in communications in 2005. He joined The Times-Tribune in 2004 as a part-time delivery driver and, after graduation, was hired as an obituary clerk. Herb helped out on high school football coverage and then moved to the sports department full-time in spring 2009 and puts together high school roundups, clipboard and youth sports news and maintains the local sports schedule. He also covers boxing and mixed martial arts and contributes to high school football and NASCAR coverage. Contact him at hsmith@timesshamrock.com or 570-348-9125.
