Reusse: Minnesota fight scene is put on hold with Amazon’s connection with Premier Boxing Champions

The Minneapolis Armory opened in 1936 as a home for the National Guard. It was the secondary location for big events in downtown Minneapolis to the larger-capacity Auditorium, which had opened a decade earlier.

The Armory was little-used by the 1980s. Hennepin County purchased the building in 1989 with this intention: to knock down those sturdy walls and use the site for a new and larger county jail.

This was due to the fact our metro population was growing exponentially, both with criminals and non-criminals alike.

The Minnesota Historical Society, with the editorial backing of the Minneapolis Star Tribune that happened to be in a building kitty-corner from the site, opposed the demolition. The state’s Supreme Court sided with the Historical Society in 1993.

Thus, downtown Minneapolis workers and visitors to the nearby Metrodome had a chance to find parking in the same building where George Mikan and Elgin Baylor played basketball.

The Armory stood there as a relic until the middle of 2015, when Ned Abdul, developer of older downtown locations, bought it for $6 million. Abdul invested many more millions (his, no public funding) to turn it into a gathering place — smaller concerts, corporate events, trade shows.

Need a place for 5,000 people or fewer … the Armory was an option. And if it happened to be a thirsty crowd, there were bars running almost the length of the main floor on both sides.

Perhaps as a warning that boxing promotion always comes with risk, this was the same night that the “thunder blizzard” struck the Twin Cities, coming in four waves and producing 16 inches of snow..

Jamal “Shango” James, a 147-pound contender, was a featured attraction that night. He won a majority decision over Abel Ramos in a grueling 10-rounder. The crowd was announced at 3,000.

The cards kept coming over the next 5½ years, interrupted only by COVID-19 … four boxing events per year with ever-increasing crowds.

The exciting Cuban David Morrell Jr. had defected and was brought to Minneapolis to train. He became a new local hero, along with James, veteran Caleb Truax and younger prospects.

The crowds grew to more than 5,000. After a long absence, the Twin Cities had discovered an actual boxing audience. It was a rowdy atmosphere that first Fox Sports and then Showtime came to appreciate.

“The Armory is such a great arena for boxing. Everyone who has been there loves the atmosphere. We will be back.”

And there’s the question: When?

The last card held at the Armory was on Dec. 16, 2023. Morrell knocked out Sena Agbeko at 1:43 of the second round. Fewer than five minutes of boxing, but fully appreciated by the crowd — which then had the choice of a couple of post-fight parties in bars dedicated to loud pounding music with graphic lyrics.

That card almost a year ago was the last for Showtime Boxing. And the last at the Armory. PBC landed with Amazon, and so far all it has shown interest in is pay-per-view fights in large arenas.

There has been one free show on Amazon Prime, and it went largely unnoticed. Morrell was supposed to be back here on Dec. 21 for a card on Prime, but then he was put together with David Benavides for a pay-per-view mega-fight on Feb. 1 in Los Angeles.

James had two birthdays since his last fight, a very sharp performance in a 10-round unanimous decision over Alberto Palmetta in the Armory on Feb. 25, 2023.

“I have three or four big fights left in me,” James said. “Al Haymon is my manager, and I do think the whole scene with Amazon is going to get straightened out. I’ll be in a big fight in the next few months, and hopefully in front of the home fans in the Armory.”