From the day I met Josh back in Sept 1993 at Castleton State College, I knew he was a fighter and a big fan of boxing. I hung Pearl Jam posters in my corner and he hung Mike Tyson in his. I couldn’t have imagined over 6 years from that day, Josh and I would still be roommates and best friends. Last weekend, between swells and shooting surfing, Molly and I made a last minute run to Burlington, VT for Josh’s second official fight. Now I had seen Josh in many unofficial fights in college and can tell you firsthand, I would not want to be his opponent. His high-kick was polished by late freshman year.
Josh’s first time in the ring was for the Burlington Brawl in July 09. This was Burlington’s version of the UFC. I missed this fight and there wasn’t a chance I was missing the next. The fight we were about to witness was a mixed martial arts called Muay Thai. From what I remember of our college days, this was much more Josh’s style of fighting. Once we arrived at ringside, I made my way to the dressing rooms before the fight. There was my college roommate, in his own private room, hands taped and ready for battle. I got the chills just peeking through the door. This was the real deal and some unlucky soul was gonna be Josh’s punching bag for potentially 3 rounds. We said our hellos and I went about documenting his preparation for the fight. I could tell from his warm-up, he had learned a lot since scrapping with me back in the day. He was ready. I snuck down by the ring just in time for his entrance through the fog. From here it was all a blur. I barely even had a chance to shoot. A barrage of kicks and punches in a 1 minute and 20 seconds left his opponent with a TKO. Lucky for him the ref made a good call and spared his complexion.
Below are some of the moments captured inside Memorial Auditorium on the night of Sept 26th 2009. Congrats Josh on the big win of your second official fight.
NICK LAVECCHIA 