Viva Las Wroclaw
"This is up by the Super Bowl level, said Mike Boorman from Main Events, the promotion agency that put the show on in Wroclaw. "This response from the press is as much as we'll get for a Holyfield fight in the States, or something along those lines."
Main Events organizes 30-40 fights a year, everything from club shows for a local audience of 500-1000 to major heavyweight title fights. For Boorman and members of his 120-person organizational team, the idea of coming to an unknown Central European city did not conjure up images of positive anticipation prior to their arrival.
"Let's be honest, I don't think anybody's expectations coming to Rocklove (read: Wroclaw), Poland would be like, hey, we're going to Hawaii," Boorman said.
But, according to Boorman, Wroclaw has far exceeded everyone's expectations. "I had this image that it would be gray 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year," Boorman said. "I think everybody's genuinely very impressed with the city."
That's music to the ears of boxing lover and local Unia Wolnosci (UW) representative Wladyslaw Frasyniuk. This major event that comes on the heels of the Pope's visit to the city puts Wroclaw once again in the international spotlight and gives the local promotion office another bragging point.
"When fans from across the ocean see this city, I think they'll fall in love with it and they'll return," Frasyniuk said. "This is an enormous promotion opportunity for the city."
Another local waxing in enthusiasm is the president of the Piast brewery, Pawel Kosciolek. Piast along with TV station Polsat are the major sponsors of the event. "This underscores our professionalism that we are the best, that we can pull in the best boxers and that underscores that we have the best beer," Kosciolek said.
While Kosciolek would not disclose the amount he laid out for sponsorship, Boorman said that the fee was in the six-figure range, somewhere between $100,000 and $999,999.
"If you said something in the middle you'd be almost accurate," Boorman said.
Kosciolek thinks that the investment will pay off. "If you put the best brewery with the best sporting event, for sure there are going to be the best sales," Kosciolek said.
While the jury is still out on the impact of the sponsorship on beer sales, others are hoping that this event will boost interest in boxing in Poland. When Golota was fined upward of $1,000 for being tardy for the official weigh-in, representative Frasyniuk gave the loudest cheer when it was announced that the money would be donated to the Polish amateur boxing association.
"The boxers organization in Poland is very interested," Frasyniuk said. "We want to use this visit of Golota and Witherspoon as a promotion element."
Main Events organizes 30-40 fights a year, everything from club shows for a local audience of 500-1000 to major heavyweight title fights. For Boorman and members of his 120-person organizational team, the idea of coming to an unknown Central European city did not conjure up images of positive anticipation prior to their arrival.
"Let's be honest, I don't think anybody's expectations coming to Rocklove (read: Wroclaw), Poland would be like, hey, we're going to Hawaii," Boorman said.
But, according to Boorman, Wroclaw has far exceeded everyone's expectations. "I had this image that it would be gray 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year," Boorman said. "I think everybody's genuinely very impressed with the city."
That's music to the ears of boxing lover and local Unia Wolnosci (UW) representative Wladyslaw Frasyniuk. This major event that comes on the heels of the Pope's visit to the city puts Wroclaw once again in the international spotlight and gives the local promotion office another bragging point.
"When fans from across the ocean see this city, I think they'll fall in love with it and they'll return," Frasyniuk said. "This is an enormous promotion opportunity for the city."
Another local waxing in enthusiasm is the president of the Piast brewery, Pawel Kosciolek. Piast along with TV station Polsat are the major sponsors of the event. "This underscores our professionalism that we are the best, that we can pull in the best boxers and that underscores that we have the best beer," Kosciolek said.
While Kosciolek would not disclose the amount he laid out for sponsorship, Boorman said that the fee was in the six-figure range, somewhere between $100,000 and $999,999.
"If you said something in the middle you'd be almost accurate," Boorman said.
Kosciolek thinks that the investment will pay off. "If you put the best brewery with the best sporting event, for sure there are going to be the best sales," Kosciolek said.
While the jury is still out on the impact of the sponsorship on beer sales, others are hoping that this event will boost interest in boxing in Poland. When Golota was fined upward of $1,000 for being tardy for the official weigh-in, representative Frasyniuk gave the loudest cheer when it was announced that the money would be donated to the Polish amateur boxing association.
"The boxers organization in Poland is very interested," Frasyniuk said. "We want to use this visit of Golota and Witherspoon as a promotion element."
