NIAGARA FALLS — The near-capacity crowd at Friday’s inaugural boxing match at the Seneca Events Center bathed in the excitement of the moment.

So did the participants.

“This place is outstanding,” Johnnie Edwards, who defended his NABA featherweight title in Friday’s main event, said prior to his bout. “I fought in Caesar’s Palace as an amateur, but that was ... I’ve never been in a place this nice.”

The first major fight in Niagara Falls in nearly six years went off fairly smoothly Friday night at the center, located inside Seneca Niagara Casino. Judging by the involved crowd, its return was triumphant.

Originally set up as a 1,600-seat arena, casino officials had to reconfigure the seating to allow for 2,200 chairs, most of which were full Friday.

“The response has been tremendous,” said Phil Pantano, public relations officer for the Seneca Gaming Corporation. “I think people are so excited that championship boxing is coming back to Niagara Falls.”

The last time major boxing came to the Falls was Oct. 12, 2001, when former heavyweight champion Donovan “Razor” Ruddock won the headliner of a four-fight card at the former convention center in which the casino now resides.

Friday was the culmination of an eight-month process to bring boxing to Seneca Nation territory, said Barry E. Snyder Jr., chairman of the corporation. Early discussions floated for a while until attorneys were brought in to begin the legal process of arranging the fights, and Seneca officials met with people from the Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods casinos in Connecticut, which have conducted fight nights in the past.

New York state was called into the talks and wanted to sanction the card, but the tribe instead opted to create the Seneca Nation Athletic Commission, a three-person panel that will sanction fights on Seneca territory mirroring the state’s rules but not dependent upon the state.

“New York state offered to come in and sanction this fight. We said, ‘Thank you, but no thank you,’ ” said Maurice John Sr., president of the Seneca Nation. “In order to be sovereign, you have to act sovereign.”

With an independent body regulating the nation’s matches both in the Falls and at the Seneca Allegany Casino and Hotel in Salamanca, the possibility exists of bringing in a fighter such as Tonawanda’s Joe Mesi, the one-time heavyweight contender who’s not licensed to fight in New York because of a brain injury he suffered in the ring in 2004.

Casino officials said they would have to look into the logistics of licensing Mesi — including the legality of such an action — but Mesi said during an appearance at a pre-fight press conference Thursday he’d be for it, if it meant fighting close to home.

“I’d like to be involved with the Seneca Nation and make (the Seneca Events Center) my home arena,” said Mesi, who said discussions are ongoing with state officials to regain his New York license. “I think it’s just a matter of time now.”

Mixed martial arts, which is not allowed in New York state, is of little interest to the nation at this point, Snyder said, but he’d like to see kickboxing come to the events center. He also sees the center as a proving ground for local amateur boxers; three Rochester-based fighters entered the ring Friday, and he’d like to offer that chance to more locals.

While Nation officials have their dreams, in the short term they will look to fix what they did wrong Friday before moving forward on fight No. 2.

“We’ll do an evaluation of the first fight, fix what wrong — because something will go wrong,” Snyder said.

Officials hope the future also involves cable television coverage — a chance to air Friday’s fight on ESPN was narrowly missed, Snyder said — and bring in higher-caliber fighters. The events center is an adequate facility for now, Pantano said, but the need for a bigger venue will be discussed if the reception is strong enough.

Turning Stone Casino in central New York has a 5,000-seat arena and has hosted several boxing matches over the years. Foxwoods’ arena is about on par with that, while the Mohegan Sun’s arena holds about 9,520 people and hosts boxing as well as the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun.

As evidenced by these other venues, the long-time connection between boxing and casinos isn’t lost on Snyder, either.

“We want to use boxing as a draw,” he said.

While Mesi has been involved in a couple fights this decade at HSBC Arena, drawing five-figure crowds to the Buffalo venue, the best hope for boxing’s future in the area may lie with the Seneca Nation.

“The long-term goal is to develop ourselves into a prime venue for boxing promoters from across the country,” Pantano said.

Snyder offered an appropriate boxing analogy.

“This is round one,” he said. “Hopefully, this will continue to be one of our main events.”

Contact reporter Paul Laneat 282-2311, ext. 2251.