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The second annual event brought a sold-out crowd to watch firefighters in red brawl with brothers in blue.<\/p>\nLast month, on a dark and foggy Outer Sunset night, San Francisco police officers and firefighters met to settle some differences, and 11 fights broke out.\u00a0<\/p>\n
But it was no back alley brawl. It was the second annual Fights in the Fog, cops versus firefighters, a fundraiser for youth sports across the city. The event doesn\u2019t get much publicity, and it doesn\u2019t need it. The Irish Cultural Center, across the street from the zoo, was sold out and jam-packed with people, cheers, and charitable violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The only rules: \u201cNo gambling or fighting outside of the ring.\u201d<\/p>\n
Regular citizens often encounter cops and firefighters in moments of crisis, defined by their uniform and authority. Inside the Irish Cultural Center, that distance fell away. The crowd represented an old-school side of San Francisco that doesn\u2019t get much attention. There were 49ers jackets everywhere, Harleys parked out front, drinks pouring, everyone inside madly cheering on their friends and coworkers.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The police and fire department command staff were sitting ringside, including interim SFPD chief Paul Yep and his soon-to-be successor, Derek Lew. There were other high profile guests, like District 5 Sup. Bilal Mahmood, but the night didn\u2019t seem to be about politicking.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Each bout paired an officer against a firefighter of roughly equal weight and experience. Firefighter Michael Stephens, 29, won the first. With a smile, he told The Frisc, \u201cI got a [parking] ticket about a couple months ago. After I got that ticket, I really wanted to punch a cop.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Stephens\u2019 bio in the event pamphlet read \u201cI just came to throw these hands,\u201d but he admitted to taking the challenge seriously, training for months and studying his opponent\u2019s technique from last year\u2019s fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The second annual event brought a sold-out crowd to watch firefighters in red brawl with brothers in blue.<\/p>\n
\u2018We got the brawlers\u2019<\/p>\n
While none of the fighters are strangers to danger, for many it was their first time stepping into a boxing ring. All contestants interviewed said they signed up to help raise money, inspired by last year\u2019s turnout.<\/p>\n
Anthony Petuya came with the entire crew of the fire department\u2019s Station 19, a five-minute drive from the Irish Cultural Center. They showed up in full uniform to watch their colleagues fight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cFor both departments, it\u2019s just pride,\u201d said Petuya. \u201cIt\u2019s one of the longest standing rivalries, but we all love this city so it\u2019s cool to come together.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Station-19-SFFD.jpeg\")
The Station 19 crew showed up in uniform to watch their colleagues fight.<\/p>\n
When asked who makes for better fighters, Petuya said, \u201cI know police have to fight for a living, but we got the brawlers on the firefighter side.\u201d<\/p>\n
The stakes were friendly. The cops promised to wash a fire truck if they lost, and firefighters said their station-house cooks would feed the cops a cioppino dinner \u2014 another nod to San Francisco history and tradition<\/a>. <\/p>\n While mustaches and burly arms were abundant, fighters came in all types and ages. Some were San Francisco natives, others repped Oakland. Some fights went lightning fast, middleweights dancing across the ring, others lasted several rounds with big bruising heavyweights.\u00a0<\/p>\n SFPD Commander Tom Maguire and his brother Dan, a professional boxer, first organized fights for charity at the Irish Cultural Center in 2001. It was only last year that the fire vs. police format began in earnest.\u00a0<\/p>\n The police and fire have a long history with a connection to our Irish-American heritage. Boxing is definitely in the family, and policing is in the family.<\/p>\n SFPD Commander Tom Maguire<\/p>\n Maguire, a third generation San Franciscan, has been on the force for 20 years. His maternal grandfather was a San Francisco cop, and his father immigrated from Belfast, Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n The Irish connection also runs through Fire in the Ring<\/a>, the gym where fighters trained together in the months prior. Based in the Cow Palace, just across the county line in Daly City, the gym was founded by<\/a> coach Jimmy Ford, a former boxer whose parents immigrated from Donegal, Ireland. Ford has been teaching kids \u201cthe sweet science\u201d for 21 years with the aim of getting them off the streets.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe police and fire have a long history with a connection to our Irish-American heritage,\u201d said Maguire. \u201cBoxing is definitely in the family, and policing is in the family.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Fights in the Fog bridged that tradition with newer immigrants and generations now working as first responders.\u00a0<\/p>\n The bell rang. Officer Irvin Huerta and firefighter Danny Nguyen sprang into the middle of the ring. Huerta, 39, dressed in blue with golden shoes, won the fight in the first minute of the first round. \u201cHe came out like a savage, like a baby pitbull,\u201d said Ford, who praised him for putting in a lot of work.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI truly appreciate the sport, because it\u2019s a dangerous sport,\u201d Huerta told The Frisc a bit later. \u201c[It\u2019s] like our job \u2014 our job is dangerous, but it\u2019s so rewarding.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019re in the ring, that fire that you have inside comes out,\u201d continued Huerta, who grew up in the Mission and Bayview and whose mother came from Colombia. He wanted to become a police officer after losing his childhood friend to gun violence.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to give back to people that have it hard, always thinking that I could be a cop that is community oriented,\u201d said Huerta. \u201cPeople are scared of police, but I just wanted to be different and try to be a positive role model for my community, for young Hispanic men, just young men in general.\u201d<\/p>\n Next year: Cow Palace?\u00a0<\/p>\n The last bout pitted two heavyweights, an SFFD medic and a SWAT team officer, was a slugfest. Punches sent both of the giants stumbling and crashing like falling trees. \u201cHeavy hands, heavy weight,\u201d said winner Dan Hernandez, 40, representing the fire department. \u201cIt was a great fight.\u201d<\/p>\n After more than two hours of fights, several spectators looked punch-drunk too, but without the punches. The night\u2019s results came over the loudspeakers: Of the 11 bouts, the police won six, firefighters five.\u00a0<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Ringside-Chats.jpg\")
\u201cI know police have to fight for a living, but we got the brawlers on the firefighter side,\u201d said SFFD\u2019s Anthony Petuya.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Officer-Irvin-Huerta.jpg\")
Irvin Huerta decided to become a police officer after losing a childhood friend to gun violence. He won his fight in the first few minutes.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Dan-Hernandez.jpg\")
SFFD\u2019s Dan Hernandez won the last bout of the night. \u201cIt was a great fight.\u201d<\/p>\n