Friday Night Fights promoter Justin Blair took some time to answer a few questions for Muay Thai Authority. He talks about the most recent Friday Night Fights event, and the great fights that took place, the comments made by Turan Hasanov, future plans for the promotion, and more. Take a few minutes to read the interview and see what one of New York's top promoters has to say.
MTA: Your the top Muay Thai promoter in New York, and you put on another great show this past weekend. What was in your opinion the best of the January 14 event?
Justin: Nathan, it was a great event overall – the energy was electric and there were a number of great matches however the highlight of the event had to be the Alex Lavrushin vs Chris Romulo match. More often than not, undercard bouts can outshine the most well planned main event however not this time. Romulo was hurt badly in the first AND in the second round. Just about everyone in the room counted him out but somehow in the third he started to turn the momentum around against impossible odds. I mean, everybody in the room couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
About a minute into the 3rd round Chris gave a little fist pump to let the crowd know that he was “still there” and the place erupted – the joy, respect, excitement and awe was palpable at that point. The fact that Chris continued to gain momentum culminating in almost knocking out Alex in the 5th round made it even more incredible.
MTA: One fight in particular was an attraction because it featured former UFC fighter Roli Delgado. Before the fight we (Muay Thai Authority) contacted his opponent Turan Hasanov and he had some pretty harsh comments regarding Roli as an opponent. As the promoter when you read these comments what goes through your mind? Do you feel more confident that these guys are going to come out and put on show now that one has seemingly disrespected the other and he needs to back up his words, while the other fighter needs to prove him wrong?
Justin: Look, a little “chatter” before the match can certainly create a buzz for both the fighters and their supporters however there is a line that fighters and people in general need to be aware of. Anyone that steps into the ring (or a cage for that matter) deserves respect for doing so. I personally fear and respect the guy that doesn’t say much and does his talking in the ring. With the fight game and in life – the guy that blinks first is usually the weaker one and I interpret trash talking as “blinking”.
As far as the Roli / Turan fight I honestly can’t begin to understand what Turan was thinking when he said those things in his interview. I don’t even have an intelligent response to that. To not train and THEN to brag about it only made him look foolish. He is a good kid but I think that he lost a lot of support from the local fan base that read that interview. He came across as classless and childish and I hope for his sake he learned a lesson from this fight.
MTA: You have some talented guys fight for Friday Night Fights, Chris Romulo, Gabriel Varga, Joesph Valtellini, Justin Greskiewicz, etc. When looking for fighters to fight in your promotion what are some of the most important things your looking for?
Justin: Look, we get a lot of praise and support for being one of the better promotions in the region and even the country but we are relatively small (although growing quickly)and therefore have to balance the constraints of being the size that we are with the need to put on the best talent that we can get. We’ve earned a solid reputation for putting on high quality matches in relatively intimate settings so we obviously look for talented fighters that can energize a crowd.
While I am one of the owners of the Church St Boxing Gym, there is a clear separation of Church & State. Yes, we have fighters from the club on the show – but unlike most promotions in our size range the show is not about simply building our fighters at the expense of whoever decides to come from out of town.
So, to answer your question – we look for fighters that have the ability to compete at the highest level, that demonstrate a level of class and strength of character that our fans have learned to appreciate and have come to expect from competitors on the FNF events. We expect a lot from ourselves so in turn we work with people that expect a lot from themselves as well. Talented fighters that work hard and do what they say they will do and respect themselves and therefore others are always prime candidates for the FNF. You would be surprised at how hard that is to find.
MTA: As mentioned before you already the top Muay Thai promoter in New York. What are the chances any shows in the future will take place outside New York?
Justin: Your timing is pretty funny – actually, we are starting a new series in February – the Friday Night Fights New England Series. This will be an event series that will be touring New England starting in Burlington, Vermont on February 25th. Keep in mind, the Friday Night Fights is not just about Muay Thai – so, we will be integrating MMA into our New England Series as well.
We are also working on some other markets as well and will keep you posted.
MTA: Any fighters, that have not fought for Friday Night Fights that you would love to bring in to fight for you?
Justin: I have been contact by James Cook & Kevin Ross – both of which would be great to have on the shows.
MTA: You have been able to put together great shows, even in venues where general admission tickets are standing room only. What is it that your shows bring that make people want to stand for four or five hours to watch the fights?
Justin: I don’t know how to answer that questions without giving away our secrets. What I will say is that we work hard to put on the best show that we can and I think that people know that. While we have our marquee fighters – our shows are as much about the experience for the fan as it is about simply the fights. New Yorker’s are pretty finicky but we’ve been doing this for a while and have managed to earn (and keep) a strong reputation for putting on a quality event with a great crowd – so, it kind of builds it’s own momentum.
MTA: Anything surprises or big fight announcements we can expect from Friday Night Fights for 2011? Maybe give us a little hint on anything.
Justin: We’ve got a few very big announcements – the FNF New England Series is one of them. As that continues to develop there will be more on that end. Additionally, we are working on some other deals that will greatly expand the reach and scope of the Friday Night Fights starting in 2011. Sorry to be vague but you’ll have to wait until we’re ready.
MTA: For people who are not familiar with Justin Blair and Friday Night Fights can you give us a little background?
Justin: I’m originally from New York City although I’ve gone to school in a few different places finishing up at the University of New Mexico. I took a little longer than most to finish school as I took pretty much the entirety of 1991 travelling around central Africa and when I finished school in 1994 I worked in the freezer hold of a fishing boat off of the coast of Alaska. I’ve settled down now with a wonderful girl from the UK who has absolutely no interest in the fights whatsoever (thankfully) and we have two wonderful children. My home life couldn’t be any further on the opposite end of the spectrum than what I do for a living and I love the polarization of the two.
I opened the Church St Gym in 1997, a couple of years after finishing up my degree in Anthropology at the University of New Mexico. I competed as an amateur boxer in High School and in college and when I finished school I wanted to do something that I had a passion for. I always had an entrepreneurial nature and decided that I would combine my love for the sport with something that I could do as a living. Shortly after taking over a defunct squash club for the gym, I had to figure out a way to pay the rent so I started producing the Friday Night Fights. The gym is a great space with 25’ ceilings and is over 8,000 square feet in lower Manhattan so it was perfect for fights. I had no idea what I was doing – it started off really just marketing towards fight fans (and begging my friends to come) but quickly became a bit of a scene and by 2003 it was a given that we would be turning away more people from the door than we would be letting in so at that point we decided to find other venues with greater capacities.
The venues that we chose today have to meet the requirements that made the Friday Night Fights Series successful in the first place – these I’ll have to keep for myself – but we remain committed to providing the same type of experience that brought us so much success when we started putting the shows on back in 1997.
I’ve recently partnered with Jason Strout with the Church Street Gym to allow me to spend more time on the Friday Night Fights. Jason is very dynamic guy and a great partner – he has been an employee of the gym for nearly 6 years and in that time we’ve been fortunate enough to cultivate a great friendship, trust and respect for one another. Jason is a world class coach that I am 100% sure of people will hear more about in the near future. He also happens to be our matchmaker for the FNF and so is deeply involved in a lot of what I do.
I definitely enjoy what I do for a living – it is a hell of a roller coaster ride but I’ve had a lot more good days than bad days. It’s not saving lives but I do feel that people have an inherent need to see the drama of people overcoming adversity in front of their own eyes. People ask me why I think people like watching fights – I don’t think it is because they want to see people get hurt, or knock outs or any of that – people need to believe that the odds can be beaten. Providing that outlet in a high energy and fun environment is a blast and an honor.
To find out more info on Friday Night Fights visit their website.
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