Philly packs punch for fighters - PhillyBlog

TracyBrant · #1 (**permalink**) 03-31-2003, 10:55 AM

Philly packs punch for fighters
By BERNARD FERNANDEZ - fernanb@phillynews.com
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/sports/5510452.htm

Quote:

Like another large, powerful athlete with a home-run cut, new Phillies slugger Jim Thome, David Tua said all the right things when he finally came to town for something more than a pass-through.

"Whenever I've fought in Atlantic City, I'd fly into Philadelphia and then drive to Atlantic City," said Tua, the heavyweight contender from Samoa. "I always wondered if I'd get a chance to fight here, because I only got to watch other guys fight at the Blue Horizon on ESPN."

Tua takes on former WBC/IBF heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman (35-4, 29 KOs) in a 12-round IBF eliminator bout tonight at the First Union Spectrum, a rematch of their 1998 matchup that Tua won by a controversial, 10th-round stoppage.

"I know this is a big fight town with a lot of history," Tua said. "My first trainer, Georgie Benton, is from here. He always talked to me about the great tradition of Philadelphia boxing."

SteveJohnston · #2 (**permalink**) 01-08-2004, 01:56 PM

Boxing seems to be making somewhat of a comeback here in Philly. Do we have any fans here?

brooke · #3 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008, 05:56 PM

So I totally went and saw my first boxing match last night at the Legendary Blue Horizon.

I went because, well, I showed this place to an investor last week. Yes, as noted in another thread on Phillyblog, The Blue Horizon is for sale. I ended up speaking with the co-owner and co-operator of the BH for about 2 hours. Her name is Vernoca Michael and she is just amazing. Her story of becoming a boxing promoter when she was told she couldn't become one because she was an African American woman was amazing. She said, "You don't tell a woman who came of age during the Civil Rights Movement that she can't do something because she's an African American woman."

Her story was so inspirational I decided to attend last night's match.

My GOSH...boxing is awesome! There is nothing quite like the adrenaline rush. I've liked hockey for this reason. Hockey doesn't even come close. The technique, the skill required...and not nearly as much blood and guts as I expected.

Any other female boxing fans out there? I brought another female friend and she totally was into it as well. My male friend...not so much. The audience was about 95% male.

I can't wait to go to the next event there.

Malloy · #4 (**permalink**) 02-09-2008, 06:07 PM

Brooke, so ya know:

The best boxer in the world is from Philly: Bernard Hopkins. Google his story.

UglyandProud7 · #5 (**permalink**) 02-21-2008, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brooke

So I totally went and saw my first boxing match last night at the Legendary Blue Horizon.

I went because, well, I showed this place to an investor last week. Yes, as noted in another thread on Phillyblog, The Blue Horizon is for sale. I ended up speaking with the co-owner and co-operator of the BH for about 2 hours. Her name is Vernoca Michael and she is just amazing. Her story of becoming a boxing promoter when she was told she couldn't become one because she was an African American woman was amazing. She said, "You don't tell a woman who came of age during the Civil Rights Movement that she can't do something because she's an African American woman."

Her story was so inspirational I decided to attend last night's match.

My GOSH...boxing is awesome! There is nothing quite like the adrenaline rush. I've liked hockey for this reason. Hockey doesn't even come close. The technique, the skill required...and not nearly as much blood and guts as I expected.

Any other female boxing fans out there? I brought another female friend and she totally was into it as well. My male friend...not so much. The audience was about 95% male.

I can't wait to go to the next event there.

Great to read! I've never seen a girl who was apprehensive about boxing go and not have a great time.

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