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James Salava, welterweight from Trenton, at the Blue Horizon. Photo: Greg Fuchs |
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Saying that you go to the fights for the sport is like saying you read Playboy for the articles. We go to fights because they're ancient, because the men are as nearly clothed as Adam, and these sweaty, half-naked men are willing to sacrifice their lives. The fights bring us back to our roots. At the Blue Horizon you'll be closer to the action than your television can ever bring you. The Blue is in an aging ballroom set along a crumbling stretch of North Broad Street. Its sagging front steps, peeling paint, rickety stairwells, and low balcony (looming just an eyelash from the ring) harken back to the salad days of pugilism - the days of bowler hats, separate entrances for women and stogies. The lighting is non-existent except above the ring, adding to the Blue's - and boxing's - image as mysterious and sacrifical. |
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Because of its size and age, the boxers walk right through the chairs scattered around the ring. From the balcony you feel as though you can swipe the blood-filled sweat right off the fighters' foreheads. Over a hot dog and a beer, you're invited to imagine laying a crushing blow to the last person that crossed your path, along with young men offering their bodies for a hope at a title belt. It may come as no surprise that Philadelphia is home to many once and upcoming champions. Heavyweight Gerald Nobles and super middleweight Charles Brewer are some of the more exciting local fighters who have strutted across the canvas at the Horizon. Fights are held several Tuesday and Friday nights of each month and USA Network is usually in attendance to broadcast live for its Tuesday Night Fights series. African-American community activists Vernoca Michael and Carol Ray, owners of the Blue Horizon, plan to renovate and turn it into a community center. But, they say boxing will continue to play a major role in fundraising. Hopefully the renovations will be subtle; more like the restoration of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel to its original Roman splendor. For the Blue Horizon is beautiful in its charming decrepitude. Just remember to check any yearnings for nostalgia at the door; you'll be asked to extinguish your stogie by the ticketer. Blue Horizon, 1314 N. Broad St., 763-0500. - Greg Fuchs |
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