Tag Archives: venue

Posted on 06/12/2017

Strike Up The Band: Mayweather-McGregor Circus May Have A Location And Date

“Something BIG is coming #BP”

These words could be found today on UFC star Conor McGregor’s Instagram page. What the hashtag #BP means, I have no idea, though an extensive search of Twitter – I got on and typed the hashtag in – revealed that it may be the brand name of the coat McGregor can be seen wearing in the post.

Still, there’s more news to give to those who are deeply intrigued by the possibility of the Irishman meeting the great Floyd Mayweather in a boxing match. No, I’m not talking about Mayweather’s own recent Instagram post, where we dons a shirt declaring him a “Strip Club Supporter.” Nope – this news is far more important to those who find such things important.

For numerous outlets are now reporting that Mayweather’s promotional outfit has, as the Daily News puts it, “booked the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas for a ‘boxing event’ on August 26.” That’s right, gang, a “boxing event.” At the MGM Grand Garden Arena. On August 26th. Strike up the band. The circus may well be a comin’.

The Daily News also reports that the Athletic Commission of the State of Nevada declares on its website “that the bout will be televised on ShowTime.” That bit of news is actually a bit strange, since most would assume this would be a pay per view fight. Not to be mean, but the expression “there’s a sucker born every minute” may ring true here.

Mayweather might have been out of the ring for ages, but he’s an all-time great. McGregor, good as he is plying his trade at Mixed Martial Arts, hasn’t had a single professional boxing match. Still, people want they want. And lots of people would undoubtedly be willing to cough up a lot of cash to see this all go down.

Although a Mayweather-MgGregor bout might well be boxing’s equivalent of a Harlem Globetrotters game, it DOES involve boxing. Therefore BoxingInsider will be sure to keep its readers updated. At least serious fans have plenty of other things to focus on. Andre Ward will rematch Sergey Kovalev this weekend, for instance. And Canelo Alvarez is set to face Gennady Golovkin in September. What’s more, Wladimir Klitschko may come back and, with the help of Anthony Joshua, wrap up the year in grand fashion. In other words, there’s plenty to be happy about for those who take the sport of boxing seriously, in spite of all the silliness.

Posted on 06/05/2017

Canelo-GGG Will Go Down At T-Mobile Arena In Vegas
By: Sean Crose

Many people wanted the September 16th Canelo-Alvarez-Gennady Golovkin superfight to happen in Texas, at the AT&T arena, home of the famed Dallas Cowboys. Of course, fight fans had a right to want to see the fight there. AT&T is a location that might actually be able to fit a record setting crowd. And, after this past spring’s Anthony Joshua-Wladimir Klitscko war in front of 90,000 people in England, fans could only be expected to hope for the same kind of explosive atmosphere back here in the states. Canelo-GGG is the biggest legitimate fight in boxing, after all. What’s more, the sport has been on the uptick in a big way. Why not continue to ride the wave by letting the world see just how big boxing can be in America in 2017?

Unfortunately, for those hoping for a thrilling Texas night, Oscar De La Hoya announced on ESPN today that Canelo-GGG will, in fact, be happening at the T Mobile Arena in Vegas. Once again, Sin City will host the sport’s biggest match. So much for reasonably priced tickets. So much for an event exclusively of and for the fans. Still, it would be unfair to bash De La Hoya or Golovkin promoter Tom Loeffler for this. Boxing, as we’re forever reminded, is a business, after all. As long as the big fights are being made, fans can only complain so much. None of that is to say that the AT@T arena’s Jerry Jones didn’t work hard to make the fight go down in the same building where his Cowboy’s play. Ultimately, though, the allure of Vegas proved to be too strong.

“The city’s ability to attract high-rolling gamblers helped it bankroll the unrevealed site fee,” wrote the LA Times’ Lance Pugmire. What’s more, De La Hoya made it clear that Vegas is a party town and that there’s a lot more to a big fight than the big fight itself. Surprisingly enough, Vegas has, until now, not hosted Golovkin, perhaps the most feared individual in all of combat sports today, in a high level match. Canelo, on the other hand, can be seen as a Vegas regular, as he’s fought in major bouts in the city on numerous occasions – most famously against Floyd Mayweather in 2013.

Speaking of Mayweather, it’s been mentioned that perhaps Floyd’s interest in fighting MMA star Conor McGregor in a boxing match may have had some impact on the decided location for Canelo-GGG. De La Hoya and Loeffler, after all, wouldn’t want Floyd fighting in Vegas around the same time their own major event was going down.

Posted on 05/05/2017

There Was Only One Philly Blue Horizon & Ring Magazine Voted It #1 in the World!
By: Ken Hissner

The Blue Horizon is a historic 1,500-seat former boxing venue in Philadelphia. The Ring magazine voted it the number-one boxing venue in the world, and Sports Illustrated noted it as the last great boxing venue in the country.

The Blue Horizon was originally constructed as three four-story Second Empire style houses in 1865. Originally built to house the nouveau riche, the properties were eventually sold to the Loyal Order of Moose. Architect Carl Berger oversaw the 1914 alterations to house the fraternal lodge, adding a ballroom, bar, and auditorium. Lodge #54, located at 1312-1316 North Broad Street had over 20,000 members by 1920, at that point the highest membership of any fraternal lodge in the world. By the late 1920s, membership had reached over 40,000 and plans were made for an extensive expansion of the building; however the Great Depression forced Lodge #54 to abandon their plans. The building also got its first taste of professional boxing during the Moose era, with two fight cards on March 1 and March 28 of 1938. The March 28th card featured heavyweight Willie Reddish, who later trained Sonny Liston and Joe Frazier.

Jimmy Toppi Sr. purchased the building in 1961 for $85,000, and renamed it after the song “Beyond the Blue Horizon” from the 1930 film Monte Carlo. After another series of renovations, regular boxing shows began in the Blue Horizon on November 3, 1961. The main event featured Hall of Famer George Benton against Chico Corsey, a late substitute. The early days of the building as a boxing venue saw regular weekly shows. Promoter Marty Kramer was given a grant from Madison Square Garden to put on these matches in order to develop young fighters. Kramer promoted over 30 main events before leaving the Blue Horizon in 1963.

Promoter Herman Taylor then hosted three nationally televised bouts at the venue in 1963 and 1964, featuring Jose Stable, Dick Turner, Harold Johnson, Henry Hank, Stanley Hayward, and Curtis Cokes. On May 26, 1966 “Gypsy” Joe Harris took a 10 round decision over Johnny Knight in a fight promoted by Lou Lucchese. There would be no more fights until September 30, 1969, when J. Russell Peltz had his first promotion of his Hall of Fame career. Peltz set a site attendance record of 1,606 in his first of many cards at the Blue Horizon. Peltz would leave the Blue in 1971 after 31 cards to promote at bigger venues like the Spectrum, but would return in 1974. Peltz would promote more fights at the Blue Horizon than anyone else in its history.

The Peltz era brought Philadelphia greats such as Matthew Saad Muhammad, Bernard Hopkins, Cyclone Hart, Tim Witherspoon, and Bennie Briscoe. Peltz left the Blue Horizon in 2001, came back to promote one card in 2004 and three card in 2009 for the last time.

In 1994, the site was purchased by Vernoca L. Michael, Carol P. Ray, and Carol M.A. Whitaker. In 1998, Vernoca Michael became licensed as the first female African American boxing promoter in the state of Pennsylvania. She has promoted bouts since featuring established fighters such as Eddie Chambers, Yusef Mack, and Lajuan Simon.

On December 2, 1997, the venue held its first world title fight when Peltz promoted Charles Brewer in a defense of his International Boxing Federation super middleweight crown. The Blue Horizon has also hosted international, regional, and state title fights.

In 2008, Ms. Michael was named one of Top 50 Women in Business in the State of Pennsylvania by Governor Ed Rendell.

Michael has worked to make the building a cultural center for the surrounding neighborhood by creating a learning center with connections to Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania and a Philadelphia Boxing Museum. The venue also hosts special events, meetings, receptions, weddings, and cabarets.

The Blue Horizon appears in the film Rocky V as some of the fight scenes with Tommy Morrison were filmed there. The building was also used to film the boxing scenes in the movie Annapolis.

The Blue Horizon was closed, reportedly due to tax problems, in June 2010. In January 2011, it was announced that $6 million had been granted to help West Philadelphia developer Mosaic Development Partners build an $18 million hotel-and-restaurant complex with a jazz bar and fitness center at the site of the Blue Horizon. In July 2013, Mosaic’s plans called for the venue to be demolished in order to make way for a parking garage.

The last show was June 04, 2010 with Farah Ennis winning in the main event.

“Rockin” Rodney Moore claims to have fought there 27 times. Box Rec shows he was 20-1-1 at the Blue.

As of May 2017 the venue along with the upgraded boxing ring remains untouched, abandoned and in remarkably good to pristine condition with virtually no signs of any interior damage or structural problems since its closing in 2010.