'ShoBox' comes to Huntington
Edie Falco, Purchase: Actress Edie Falco arrives at the 64th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles. Falco, a Purchase College alumna, was nominated for the best actress in a comedy Emmy for her work in "Nurse Jackie." (Sept. 23, 2012) Credit: Getty Images
As a guy who misspent his adolescence in East Northport, it’s not every day I receive a news release about a nationally televised sports event near my hometown. So, naturally, my typing fingers perked up when I learned Showtime’s “ShoBox: The New Generation’’ series was coming to Huntington tonight.
The card is set to go live at 10 p.m., with the main event being a junior middleweight bout featuring undefeated Demetrius (Boo Boo) Andrade, a 24-year-old lefty, against Freddy Hernandez at The Paramount.
It is the first time in the 12-year history of ShoBox that it will emanate from Long Island, with Huntington becoming the 64th different municipality to host a show. (Barry Tompkins has the call, with Steve Farhood and Raul Marquez providing analysis.)
ShoBox’s mandate is to showcase rising fighters, and sure enough, according to Showtime 45 have gone on to win world titles.
Showtime producer Gordon Hall said it is the promoter, in this came Joe DeGuardia, and not Showtime that chooses the venue. But Showtime is fully on board with the selection.
Hall said Long Island-based Chris Algieri, who was born in Huntington, originally was supposed to appear on the same card at The Paramount as Andrade but that an injury forced a postponement last year.
Hall said he is particularly pleased with the intimate Paramount, which seats just over 1,500, for TV purposes.
“It’s always better to have 1,500 fans in a 1,500-seat arena than 1,500 fans in a 5,000-seat arena,’’ he said. “It will be very theatrical Friday night because of the fans.’’
Did I mention Edie Falco of Showtime's "Nurse Jackie" went to Northport High School with my sisters? Well, she did.
