PHILLY BOXING HISTORY - July 14, 2024 |
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Saturday night's welterweight championship fight between Jaron "Boots" Ennis and David Avanesyan drew the largest crowd to a Philadelphia fight in 46 years. By the end of fight night, promoter Eddie Hearn and his Matchroon Boxing announced the official attendance tally for the event as 14,119 tickets sold. While a crowd of this size may be business as usual in Las Vegas and New York, in Philadelphia, such a gathering for boxing is truly a rarity - at least lately. Ennis' 14,119 attendance number lands the fight in the number six spot on the list of the biggest indoor Philadelphia fights. Being number six places Ennis right below Sugar Ray Robinson (vs. Jose Basora) and just above Emile Griffith (vs. Gypsy Joe Harris) on the list. After Saturday's event, the Top Ten indoor fights with the largest attendance are now as follows: 1. Alfredo Escalera vs. Tyrone Everett (1976) - 16,019 - Spectrum 2. Joe Louis vs. Gus Dorazio (1941) - 15,425 - Convention Hall 3. Marvelous Marvin Hagler vs. Bennie Briscoe (1978) - 14,930 - Spectrum 4. Bob Montgomery vs. Ike Williams I (1944) - 14,807 - Convention Hall 5. Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Jose Basora (1945) - 14,653 - Convention Hall 7. Emile Griffith vs. Gypsy Joe Harris (1968) - 13,875 - Spectrum 8. Steve Hamas vs. Max Schmeling (1943) - 13,500 - Convention Hall 9. Henry Armstrong vs. Al Tribuani (1943) - 12,633 - Convention Hall 10. Steve Hamas vs. Tommy Loughran (1932) - 12,530 - Convention Hall This means that the last time there were more fans in the seats for a Philly fight was nearly 50 years ago when Marvelous Marvin Hagler defeated Bennie Briscoe in 1978. But to understand just how unique this recent box office record is, you have to compare it to the attendance numbers for more recent fights.
No recent boxing event in Philly has come close to such a number. Excellent and popular local champions including Bernard Hopkins, Steve Cunningham, Danny Garcia, David Reid, Julian Williams, Tevin Farmer, Stephen Fulton, and Charles Brewer never fought before a hometown crowd anywhere near as large as Ennis' impressive number. Over the past 30 years, the biggest-selling Philly fights were: 1995 - Spectrum - Mike Tyson vs. Buster Mathis
Jr. - approximately 8,000 Jaron Ennis himself. Not only is he a touted rising star with aspirations (and serious potential) to be the top pound-for-pound fighter in the world. His style is exciting. He's fast, hard-punching, aggressive, and always looking to go home early. He's not only highly skilled, he's a crowd-pleaser. In modern boxing, those two elements don't always come together. Ennis is a fighter that excites fans and makes them want to be part of his journey.
The Ennis story also includes a strong family narrative with three fellow members who have been part of our boxing community for decades. Father Bozy Ennis was a former pro boxer who found his place in the sport as a trainer. He has worked with numerous local fighters through the years, most notably his three sons. Derek "Pooh" Ennis was an excellent junior middleweight who won the USBA regional title. Farah "The Quiet Strom" Ennis was a talented super middleweight won the NABF regional title. Most local fans followed their careers and waited for both of them to make it to the top of their divisions. Derek and Farah each had fine careers, but winning a world title is not an easy task. While the older Ennis brothers were climbing the ranks, little brother Jaron was living in the gym. Long before he was a rising star, there was talk that Jaron would become the best boxer in the entire family. The fans were invested in him long before he became a champion. A win for Jaron is a win for each member of the beloved Ennis family. The fact that a foreign promoter, in this case the British firm Matchroom and its head, Eddie Hearn, did not buy into the old idea that Philly fans do not support their fighters by buying tickets, allowed this success to happen. For a very long time, all our best boxers have performed at home before loyal, involved fans, but not to the masses. Philly is a boxing city and has been for a century. However, in recent times Philly boxing has been more of a cult than a major pastime for fans. Hearn didn't hesitate to stage the fight in a big indoor arena. He was bold and did his part to make a big event happen here. Local promoters have learned the lesson that big venues like the Wells Fargo Center are just too large to host boxing. Hearn refused to believe that and in doing so, set the stage for the fight to be the success it was. Had the fight drawn only 5,000-6,000, it would be a "one and done" affair. However, with the success of Ennis-Avanesyan, it seems very likely that Matchroom will be back again to put on another Jaron Ennis fight. Hopefully this is only the beginning. We all won with this fight. With one big fight already in the bag, Boots and Matchroom can now plan the next show and strive to expand the live audience and place another event on the top attendance list.
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