There’s something satisfying about watching someone get the crap knocked out of them. There’s something even more satisfying about watching someone get pummeled— live—while throwing back a few beers.
However a ticket to a live fight, plus drinks at the venue, can easily set you back a hundred bucks or more. If your post-holiday wallet is fighting in the featherweight class, there are other options. Assuming you aren’t picky about the card, the venue, or the clientele, you can do some quality drinking and pugilistic spectating at South Broadway Athletic Club.
This humble venue, located on the edge of Soulard, hosts a slew of amateur fights ranging from wrestling and boxing to MMA cage fighting.
The adjoining bar certainly ain’t winnin’ any beauty contests (nor are some of the patrons) but the pitchers are cheap, cold, and plentiful. So one might question why they would visit a gritty venue to drink hooch from plastic cups and watch amateur combatants (with often questionable techniques) duke it out. It is simply one of those magical situations where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
Any establishment offering just one of these dubious attractions would not make a blip on anyone’s radar. But when combined, each ingredient brings out the flavor of the next, creating a bouillabaisse of loosely bridled violence and South City subculture that might have you coming back for subsequent tastes.
If you plan to go in a large group, be sure to arrive at least 30 minutes early to secure a table.
For an updated list of the events at South City Athletic Club, visit southbroadwayac.org.
