LEWISTON – Oh what a problem to have.

As the clock struck eight Saturday night, the music still thumped, the lights were still up, and the crowd still waited.

“The fights will begin in 15 minutes,” announced DJ/MC Scott Labbe.

Reluctant fighters? Problems with the card? Troubles in a sport not always known for being completely out in the open?

Hardly.

There were simply too many people still trying to get into the Multi-Purpose Center for a night of professional boxing and instead of being cut off by the bell, it was promoter Joey Gamache to the rescue.

A cross-section of the standing room only crowd revealed a confusing mismatch. It was part NASCAR, part Bruins, part Patriots, part Sesame Street On Ice, and a lot of hip-hop.

How else would you explain a crowd that had families sitting next to motorcycle colors, boxing clubs from all over New England, retired couples and a ton of Generation Y.

“This is great,” said Joey Gamache, Sr. as he watched the third bout of the evening. “You can see that boxing is back in Lewiston and Auburn. We held the start of the card because it wasn’t fair to all the people that weren’t in here yet.”

The crowd wasted no time getting into the action, showing its approval as John Rumble Webster and Jason The Flash Fiske opened the card. The allegiances were set as Webster got the upper hand and the crowd jumped to its collective feet in the fourth round when the former Maine and Vermont champ sent Fiske to the canvas with a left hook in what sounded like a ton of bricks.

“I think people are seeing some very good boxing,” said Gamache. “Webster brings a lot of fans out as does Vinnie Donatelli. I think Webster took his anger at the referee out in that left hook.”

Webster had been penalized for excessive holding.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Webster of the KO win. “It’s been eight years for a win like that. I have won plenty of fights, but not like that. (Fiske) was a great opponent.”

In the third match of the evening, Dennis Hurley Burley of Scranton, Pa., danced to the music and talked with the crowd throughout the break after the first round while his opponent, Fabulous Favio Medino took the time more seriously.

“Burley sure is having a good time,” said Gamache.

Maybe Burley should have taken it a little more seriously. Medino won a four-round decision.

One of the more exciting matches that had the crowd oohing and aaahing at every turn involved a pair of Bronx, N.Y. fighters that traveled to Maine to face each other. As Gerald No Play Gray and Ike It’s Me and You Ezeji duked it out in a punishing bout, people throughout the stands had little trouble finding advice to offer.

In the end, it was Ezeji with a four-round decision.

“Last month we did a card that was half amateur and half professional,” said Gamache Sr. “We won’t do that again. It costs is too much that way. All our cards now will be 100 percent one way or the other.”

Jason LeHoulllier of the Portland Boxing Club opened the second half of the card with a dominating performance over Genaro Anduhar of The Bronx. The fight was stopped in the second round.

In other action, Yason The Assasin Rashad scored a third round knockout over Lightning Rod Jacobs. Both fighters are from New York City.

A recurring theme throughout the evening was, “We want Vinny” and the crowd finally got him. A standing ovation greeted the Lewiston entrepreneur.

“I love that stuff,” said Vinny’s opponent Declet Tinlin. “Where I come from its always stacked against you.”

Unfortunately, scripts like Rocky are created in Hollywood as Donatelli fell in the first round.

“Vinny’s a nice guy and he punches hard,” said Tinlin. “But he got hit with a hard shot and he went down. You know it happens. Take nothing away from him. He’s a nice guy and we are going to have a beer now.”

“This night is big for boxing in Maine,” said Webster. “I didn’t fight for six years in Maine after Joey retired and I have been working for a long time to get an opportunity like this. It was great to see so many Portland people come up here for this night.”

“What a fantastic night,” said Gamache Sr. “All you want to do it come away from a night with enough money to start putting together the next night. Tonight we did that.”