Oct 2001 / games :: email this story to a friend

Getting to the Punch
By Bob Reuter

OK: Labor Day, 2001, 300 people in a Dogtown backyard for the "Hoosierweight Championship" of the world. This idea could have only sprung up out of this city's southside. I came to document what I thought would be a drunken cartoon afternoon — imagine my surprise. After two preliminary bouts, (the first was two women, the second a real crime), the main event truly had me enthralled.

The main event of Steve "Iron Skillet" Smith vs. Thomas "Akita" Crone was an awesome show of dignity, endurance, resolve and personal pride. (A pre-bout fire-eating demonstration paled by comparison.) In the end the bout was judged to be a draw and in truth, I saw no loser on that day.

[Click on a thumbnail image below to enlarge it.]

Bob Reuter is a photographer who celebrates the people of this city's southside and white trash culture in general. Drop him a line if you want a copy of these photos, and be sure to check out his Web site.

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