By Larry Goldberg, Boxing Insider Promotions

I grew up in Atlantic City. Saturday was our seventh show at the Tropicana and our 20th card overall. I wanted this to be a community homecoming — a night built around three local fighters in Justin Figueroa, Josh Popper, and Julio Sanchez. We had the best intentions. But it is boxing, and boxing does not care about your intentions.

The hometown hero DDT’d a guy — for the non-wrestling fans, that is when you fall backwards and drive the other person’s head into the ground — after a wrestling match broke out in the third round. A 330-pound man who looked and dressed like Butterbean got walloped in 72 seconds. A Nipsey Hussle walkout song killed the YouTube replay after the show — that is its own story. And Lia Lewandowski took a real fight that most of the men in club boxing would have turned down.

“Mr. Atlantic City” and the Main Event

I have only truly pushed a handful of fighters since I started doing this, and Justin “Mr. Atlantic City” Figueroa is one of them. I meant what I said when I wanted this to be a local community event. We had the AC High swimming team there Saturday night. Two days before fight night, I spent my PR resources to bring Justin and Josh Popper back to Holy Spirit High School for a student assembly — two guys who once sat in those classrooms, late for class or cutting class and missing homework, coming back as undefeated professional boxers giving a motivational assembly for students and alumni. How many local promoters would spend two weeks before a card doing something like that? It paid off with coverage in the local paper. We want to be a community affairs program that happens to be boxing.

For three rounds, Figueroa vs. Caraballo was shaping up to be the most competitive fight of Justin’s career — and the best fight of the night. Caraballo came to fight. Justin was sharp. The crowd was on its feet. Then the wrestling instincts kicked in. Justin is a former wrestler at Holy Spirit, and when they got tangled on the ropes after a left hook to the body he dropped straight back and DDT’d Caraballo into the canvas. Caraballo had his neck immobilized and was stretchered out. The NJSACB ruled it a no decision — accidental foul. Figueroa remains 14-0.

Caraballo held up both hands on his way out. He is a tough-as-nails kid out of the La Perla gym in Puerto Rico — you do not train there without knowing how to take a hit. I ran into him and his trainer at 2:30 in the morning and he is going to be okay. The stretcher was an overabundance of caution from the NJSACB, which has some of the strongest medical protocols in the country. Caraballo, Justin, and Justin’s brother are already going back and forth online. When we finally do the rematch, it is going to be a lot of fun.

The Josh Popper Situation

Dillon Pumphrey weighed in at 330 pounds. He rolled into the ring wearing Butterbean-inspired trunks with a matching bald head. Josh Popper put him down with a check left hook at 1:12 of the first round. It was over before it started.

We all know how building heavyweights works. You put them in with big bodies, you let them get knockouts, you build the reel in the beginning. That is the playbook and it has been the playbook forever. But there is a line between a legitimate B-side opponent who is there to compete and a hopeless guy who showed up to be a punching bag. Saturday night we crossed that line. Josh’s management wanted this fight — it was a bird in the hand, the opponent who was available. But the reality does not change the optics, and this did not make Josh or Boxing Insider Promotions look good. Jim Kurtz, Bruce Seldon Jr.’s manager, told me after the fight that I can never complain about anyone else’s choice of opponents again. He is not wrong. It has gotten a lot of laughs online.

None of that is on Josh. He did what he was supposed to do. Popper is 6-0 with six knockouts and he has not been tested yet because nobody has shown up to test him. That is the next problem to solve.

Lia Lewandowski Stepped Up

In a world where local fighters do not want to take real fights, Lia Lewandowski took one. She fought Indeya Rodriguez — never stopped in 18 professional bouts, has gone the distance with world champions, already pulled off one upset on a Boxing Insider card — and lost a unanimous decision. She drops to 3-1, but I have more respect for that 3-1 than most of the 8-0s walking around the club scene right now. She took the hard fight, ate hard shots, and never stopped throwing back. We are bringing her back. That is not a courtesy — she earned it.

The Rest of the Card

Julio Sanchez III walked out with the Pleasantville High School drumming squad and stopped Christopher Williams (0-2) at 2:24 of the first round. Sanchez is coming along fast. Next fight they plan on stepping up the competition.

Everyone is talking about John Leonardo’s body shots. He outworked Edgar Joe Cortes over eight rounds for a unanimous decision in the co-feature, and by the second half of the fight he was sitting down on hooks to the body that had Cortes holding on just to hear the final bell. Leonardo is a lock for June — his team is already flooding us with names. This kid wants to fight.

Jacob Solis, a New York middleweight, is back in the mix. He controlled Jeremy Ramos over six rounds for a comfortable unanimous decision in his first fight back since last spring. He set himself up for a spot when Boxing Insider returns to Sony Hall.

We gave Avril Mathie a shot on commentary Saturday night, and boxing has a new commentator. She was natural, she knew the sport, and Randy Gordon was clearly impressed with having her on the team. Eric Bottjer and Peter Czymbor rotated in and out alongside them — both have great futures covering boxing with their extensive matchmaking backgrounds. She will be back. They all will.

What Comes Next

I want to bring Leonardo back. Lia needs to stay in the mix. Julio Sanchez — who made his amateur debut on our AC PAL amateur show — is a local kid improving fast who brings a distinct crowd. Bruce Seldon Jr. needs to get back to the form he showed two years ago and let me promote Seldon vs. Popper. Or is it Popper vs. Seldon? We will figure that out when the time is right. Justin and Caraballo is going to be a war when it happens. Hopefully Seldon comes back in June unless Zuffa signs them all.

I need to get back to Times Square. New York City’s boxing scene needs us. Working with some of the local managers to see if we cannot put something together.

Local boxing.

We filled the Tropicana for the seventh straight time. I am not perfect — Saturday proved that six different ways. But I show up, I try and put on real fights, I stream them free, and I am honest about what works and what does not. I will do better in June.

I am excited we brought BoxingInsider.com back to life in an age when the entire business is changing. Pay attention to this space.

Larry Goldberg is the founder of Boxing Insider Promotions and owner of BoxingInsider.com.