Thursday November 14, 2002 marked the debut of Miami Fight Night, a new venture promoted by Brad Jacob's Global Promotions, hosted by The Waterfront Theater, located in the spectacular AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida. It was televised as a special Thursday edition of ESPN2's Friday Night Fights. One of my favorite commentators, Al Bernstein, ever so smooth in delivery and big in boxing knowledge, did the honors for this evening of boxing by beautiful Biscayne Bay.

They say that one must crawl before walking; well, this card crawled a bit, but there are great possibilities for power walking in the near future. Headlining the debut of Miami Fight Night was none other than former WBC featherweight champion and New York icon, Kevin "The Flushing Flash" Kelley, who at age 35 continues to reinvent himself, this time as a junior lightweight, with a record of 53-5-2, 35 KOs. Olympian Michael Bennett was considered the other attraction, and a female bout pitting local up and coming Patricia Martinez against Tony Ayala, Sr.'s trainee Maribel Zurita was next in line in the interest of the locals.

In the opening bout, lightweight Dillet Frederick (3-0-2, 1 KO), from Tampa, Florida won a 40-36 unanimous decision over Miami's Javier Portilla who was making his pro debut.

Next on the card, former Philippine and WBO Intercontinental Super Flyweight titlist, now ranked #1 by the WBO, Vernie Torres, (23-5, 13 KOs), who in an unprecedented turn of events, was disqualified in the second round of his bout against Argentinean Sandro Oviedo.

Vernie, a Roy Jones Jr. protégé, looked strong in the first round of the fight, and showed more of the same in the second, making Oviedo take a seat with a powerful left hook to the head. While Oviedo was down on one knee and clearly stunned, and for reasons that even he couldn't explain, Torres connected a flush right hook to the chin of his fallen opponent, which sent him reeling and rendered him out of commission for several frightening seconds.

Upon close examination, ringside physician Dr. Allan Fields advised referee James Warring that Oviedo was unable to continue. The Argentinean, who now resides in Miami, was declared the winner by way of disqualification at 1:35 of the second round; his record improving to 23-18-2, 4 KOs.

Next in line was the match between Pembroke Pine's welterweight prospect David Estrada (12-0, 7 KOs) and durable Vince Harris, (9-9-2, 6 KOs) from Orlando, Florida. Estrada, who continues to ply his trade and who has sparred with top names like Vargas and Judah, didn't disappoint this evening.

He worked Harris' body mercilessly, pounding him on the ropes at will. He also busted Vince's nose and mouth. The ever so timely stoppage at the hands of referee Jorge Alonso came in 2:15 of the sixth round.

Pensacola's Keiyon Bussey, another RJJ protégé, looked impressive in victory with a decisive stoppage of Carlos Nogueras, (0-5), a Nicaraguan now residing in Miami, Florida. Official time 1:20 of the third round.

Bussey goes about his business with the aplomb of a much more seasoned fighter, displaying Roy Jones-like speed, accuracy and always throwing punches in bunches. He has trained under Roy Jones, Sr. and Al Merkerson, and we look forward to seeing him in action again.

The youngster told us that he has had his share of problems, but that all negatives have now been resolved and he is very anxious to show his stuff in the ring and become a champion soon.

On with the ladies, as San Antonio, Texas' Maribel Zurita, a Tony Ayala, Sr. charge, came to challenge Miami's own Patricia Martinez. The 110 pounders put on a show, both had their moments, but in the end, it was the hometown support and her excellent training at the hands of Norman Wilson, Chico Rivas and José Guzman that gave Patty Martinez the unanimous win, 40-36 all.

Patty was explosive, thrived in trading with Zurita, and forced the action throughout the bout. She was very popular with the fans, who loudly appreciated the effort and the sportsmanship displayed by both contestants.

In the co-feature that most of us wish had never taken place, Michael Bennett, 192, native of the Windy City took on Tampa's Alonzo Wright, 191. Both fighters entered the ring extremely dry, with Wright fighting so stiff and straight up that at times I was afraid he would knock himself out. He seemed more interested in engaging in dirty tactics than in boxing, which cost him two points from no nonsense ref Jorge Alonso.

After 8 rounds of blah, the scores went 80-70, 79-71 and 80-70 in favor of the 2000 Olympian Bennett, who seems to be stuck in the mire, career and developmental wise.

On with the main event, a non title bout featuring NABA lightweight champion Kevin Kelley and Johnny West-Gutierrez, a Nicaraguan now residing in Miami, Florida, who came into this evening with an impressive 12-1-1, 11 KOs record. Kelley is a seasoned veteran who has given boxing fans many thrills, a trend which he continued tonight, stopping West-Gutierrez in no uncertain terms in the fifth round of a scheduled 10 rounder.

Although starting out a bit slower than usual, it became obvious Kelley had it all under control by the third round, where he landed sharp punches relatively at will. Kevin floored his opponent in the fourth with a strong left hook to the head, and again with almost the same punch in the fifth. Johnny West-Gutierrez was dismantled by Kelley who connected another left hook to the head that brought the curtains down on the Nicaraguan. The official time 2:58 into the fifth assault.

The Miami Fight Night series will run every other month through September 2003. In the house tonight were RJJ, several Heat players led by of our beloved "Zo" Mourning, boxers Ricky "Showtime" Quiles, Eliecer Castillo, Jesús Valverde and Charles Whitaker. Miami's top rated radio station Power 96 represented as well, with its own 'Mobile' Mike in charge of a give away promotion.

The evening's attendance was an encouraging 2500+.