Chad (L) & Mike (R) getting ready to face off

Saturday was go time for Michael Darrah. The Soldier, Army Ranger, husband and father said he was going to step into a ring having never done it before. He did.

I went to Warwick last night to check out Brawl for it All 5. There is some who would say that the boxing scene is dead. After last night, I think that there are some hard working talented athletes and trainers who made the trip worthwhile. These are dedicated, talented people.

Mike was the last card before the main event. He and Team Darrah came out to the “Lion Sleeps Tonight” with flags waving and the crowd loved it.

Speaking of crowd, all I saw was “Team Darrah” shirts and swag everywhere. A big shout out to Mike Smith, who worked behind the scenes to promote and sell tickets. Also it was cool to hang out with Matt D, who is considering following Michael’s footsteps. Good stuff.

Chad and Mike faced off and people around me were like, “Who is this guy?” I was like, “Mike has never fought before, ever…” People started to look at this fight differently.

I don’t know much about boxing. So I respect the hell out of the dedication and effort it takes to get into the ring much less go the distance. Putting my spin on the fight won’t count for much here. All I will say is after watching multiple boxers go down in the first or second round, it was bad ass to see Mike go all three rounds.

In the end, he lost the match by the scorecard, and like that it was over. I walked up to him and saw that he was literally covered in sweat and blood. Some people say it, some people sing it; however, here was a man who walked his talk. So while he didn’t win the match, I will never say that he was beaten.

You made all of us proud Michael. Glad to have met you and let’s train or go riding soon.