May 10, 2024; Philadelphia, PA; Eddie Hearn, CEO of Matchroom Sport, speaks at a press conference announcing the July 13, 2024 fight card at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Maclean/Matchroom.
by Joseph Santoliquito |
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Philadelphia is supposed to be a “great fight city.” It’s not. Philadelphia is supposed to be a “great sports city.” It’s not.
However, that doesn’t mean Philadelphia doesn’t produce great fighters.
It still is.
Jaron “Boots” Ennis is one of them now. Eddie Hearn, the president of Matchroom Promotions, promised Ennis when he came out of nowhere to unexpectedly sign the IBF welterweight champion in April that his first title defense would take place in his hometown of Philadelphia, an overhyped sports city except for the fiery fan base that supports the NFL’s Eagles.
Hearn promised Ennis he would build his popularity among sports fans in the city – and it looks like he has done just that.
In an exclusive interview with The Ring, Hearn said Ennis could draw 14,000 viewers for his first defense of his IBF 147-pound title. Ennis will face tough David Avanesyan (30-4-1, 18 knockouts) on Saturday night on DAZN at the Wells Fargo Center, which seats 21,000 and is home to the NBA 76ers and NHL Flyers.
The 14,000 would be the highest attendance for an indoor fight in Philadelphia since the legendary Marvin Hagler defeated Bennie Briscoe in the 10th round on Aug. 24, 1978 at the now-defunct Philadelphia Spectrum (14,930) and would be nearly 2,000 fewer than the Philadelphia boxing record of 16,019 who witnessed one of the greatest steals in boxing history when WBC junior lightweight champion Alfredo Escalera defended his belt in a convincing victory over Tyrone Everett.
Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) will headline the eight-fight card, which will also feature Skye Nicolson defending her WBC women’s featherweight title in a 10-round bout against Dyana Vargas. The card will also feature a number of up-and-coming fighters.
It is certain that Boots will win — and win easily.
The biggest curiosity is what the combat looks like.
Nearly a century ago, Philadelphia was once a energetic and historic center for fighting. On September 23, 1926, Gene Tunney defeated Jack Dempsey in a driving rain on a Thursday night before a crowd of 120,557 at Sesquicentennial Stadium, later renamed Municipal Stadium, and eventually JFK Stadium for the Army-Navy game. Twenty-six years later to the day, Rocky Marciano knocked out Jersey Joe Walcott for the heavyweight title on September 23, 1952, before a crowd of 40,379 at Municipal Stadium.
Launched by Hall of Fame promoter J Russell Peltz, Philadelphia returned as a fight port from the tardy 1960s into the early 1980s. Peltz helped lure Hall of Famers Hagler, Tommy Hearns, Matthew Saad Muhammad, Jeff Chandler and Roberto Duran to the Spectrum, drawing crowds worth five figures.
Today, Stephen Fulton of Philadelphia, former WBO and WBC junior featherweight world champion, was attacked at an airport in Tokyo, Japan, and was not recognized as he walked down a street in North Philadelphia.
This time last year, Fulton held the WBO and WBC junior featherweight titles before flying to Japan where he lost the belts to eventual 2023 Fighter of the Year Naoya Inoue.
“I’m the only world champion in Philadelphia (the Philadelphia Phillies lost the 2022 World Series and the Eagles lost the 2022 Super Bowl),” Fulton told The Ring at the time. “It’s like nobody knows. That’s why I said I’ll never fight in Philadelphia. I get more love from all over the country and halfway around the world than I do in my own city. They can stop that love. Right now, I don’t care.”
On March 29, 2003, all-time middleweight Bernard Hopkins defended his 16th title against French marathoner Morrade “Pepe Le Pew” Hakkar in front of a handful at the Spectrum in a WBC mandatory. The event, because it was not a fight, was widely criticized. It seriously discredited the Philadelphia boxing fan base, considering Hopkins could not draw from his hometown no matter who he fought.
Hearn, a master of sales, wants to change that with Boots. For one thing, Ennis, weighing 147, is a large plus. American lightweights apparently have a harder time getting noticed in their hometowns. Second, and more importantly, Hearn’s struggle may not be selling Ennis, 27, a much-loved, immensely talented fighter, but selling boxing to a bleak city that has considered boxing a crossover sport for decades.
“We’re hoping to have about 14,000, and in terms of size, it’s a large event,” Hearn said. “It’s the biggest fight since Hagler-Briscoe 46 years ago. The key is that Philadelphia is a very active sports city and a active boxing city. I believe there’s an element of what makes Boots so good, and people see the potential he has to be one of the top five, three best non-weight fighters in the world. People understand that and believe in that.
“One of the most invigorating things about this project is the potential future. If we can get 14,000 for David Avanesyan, who is a good, competitive fighter, we’d be selling out for a bigger fight. We want to capitalize on that and capitalize on how good Boots is. I’d like to see another large fight, a title unification fight with Eimantas Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) or (WBC titlist) Mario Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs) this year. We know the audience potential. We’re looking at a really good gate, over $1 million. It’s the rebirth of championship boxing in the city, and Boots is a dominant fighter who could be the best non-weight fighter in the world.”
Avanesyan is a better fight than his original opponent, Cody Crowley, the IBF mandatory who was sidelined when he failed a pre-fight eye test. Avanesyan will come fight.
Hearn has set very reasonable ticket prices – lower level tickets are almost sold out, with ringside tickets going for $1,000, and upper level tickets still available.
“We’ve been doing very well for the last 48 hours and we want to get back to Philadelphia,” Hearn said. “We’ve heard about the inflated ticket prices. I found Russell Peltz’s comments about the inflated ticket sales very strange and I don’t understand why he wouldn’t want to be behind one of the most successful promotions the city has ever had. There’s absolutely no compromise on the numbers that we have right now, no comparisons, nothing. Depending on the size of the show, the comparisons are different.
“Obviously, if it’s a smaller crowd and you have space in the arena, you utilize comps to promote the show. We don’t utilize comps to fill seats. When a show sells really well, like it did here, you take care of your sponsors with comps. We had a immaculate sellout. I don’t know why someone like Russell, who’s from Philadelphia, would want to detract from what it is — the biggest fight of the decade. Russell is a legend. He’s a legend from this area who should look back on Saturday as a proud man, reminisce about those glory days and have a chance to rise from the ashes where great boxing once was in Philadelphia.”
“Boots and his father are great ambassadors for boxing. Boots is a good man and a great role model for the city, and to me that’s what makes him a good salesman. He’s a great fighter and a great person who loves the sport.
“You can’t beat this.”
Let’s hope Philadelphia understands this.
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