521 Sports 09.jpg
It was in January of 1993. I was assigned to cover Flint, Michigan's first professional boxing show while I was a staff photographer at the Flint Journal.
Patrick Byrd unleashed a flurry of punches knocking opponent Eugene Vassar to the ground. Monte Oswald counted Vassar out and as his fingers hit ten, the Flint native won his first professional boxing debut with one second to spare in the first round. Patrick's younger brother Chris Byrd, who also won his bout that night (and also a silver medal in the 1992 olympics), went on to win four heavyweight championships.