BOXING ON TAP NOV. 13 AT THE DRURY LODGE

The Show Me Center and Drury Lodge have teamed together to offer a closed-circuit boxing match.

The heavyweight championship fight between Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe will be televised live at 8 p.m. Friday at the Drury Lodge in Cape Girardeau.

In the past, closed-circuit telecasts of championship fights have been held at the Show Me Center, but recent attendance has declined. It's hoped the new arrangement will prove a bigger draw for fight fans, said Will Lofdahl, Show Me Center events coordinator.

"It's the first time we have tried doing it at the Drury Lodge," he said. The Show Me Center and the Drury Lodge are the local promoters of this event.

"When Mike Tyson was in his heyday we (the Show Me Center) were doing pretty well, but there hasn't been as big a following of the heavyweight fights lately," said Lofdahl. Recent fights have drawn less than 500 people per event.

"We are trying a little different formula," noted Lofdahl.

Plans call for removing the partitions between the Drury Lodge meeting rooms to make one big room. A big screen TV will be installed for the fight, along with a number of television monitors to make viewing easier.

"The Show Me Center is a pretty big place, and for an event of this size we think it (the Drury Lodge) might have more of a living room kind of flavor to it," said Lofdahl.

"We feel that this might be a more comfortable atmosphere. It's kind of like going to a sports bar and watching the game. That is the kind of atmosphere that we are trying to accomplish," he explained.

Lofdahl said the seating capacity at the Drury Lodge had not been determined yet. However, he said the facility should accommodate several hundred people.

Doors will open at 7 p.m., with the prefight show to start at 7:30.

Tickets are $20 in advance or at the door. Tickets can be purchased at Schnucks and Disc Jockey Records in Cape Girardeau, Capital Bank in Sikeston and Jackson, and at the Show Me Center box office. Tickets can also be ordered by calling the Show Me Center box office at (314) 651-5000.

Bowe is the top contender for the boxing title and is ranked first by the World Boxing Association and by the International Boxing Federation. The 6'5", 234-pound Brooklyn native is ranked third by the World Boxing Council.

Holyfield is 28-0, with 22 KO's. The 6'2", 210-pound fighter captured the boxing crown Oct. 25, 1990 with a one-punch knockout of James "Buster" Douglas. This fight will be his fourth title defense.