‘Golden’ Promoter J Russell Peltz, a Philly Boxing Icon, Isn’t Done Quite Yet

Published

6 years ago

October 5, 2019

Golden-Promoter-J-Russell-Peltz-a-Philly-Boxing-Icon-Isn't-Done-Yet

Linda Peltz, J Russell Peltz’s wife of 42 years, said her husband has “been dropping hints for 15 years” about permanently relocating to Florida and doing whatever it is that so many septuagenarian East Coast snowbirds do when taking up residence in the land of sun and sand.

But while the legendary Philadelphia boxing promoter (pictured in his younger days), who celebrated his 50 years in the sport Friday night with a nine-bout card at the 2300 Arena in South Philly, might again be entertaining thoughts of retirement, he apparently is not prepared to fully turn himself over to a less stressful, boxing-free existence of shuffleboard and occasional excursions to the jai alai arena and greyhound track.

Oh, sure, the Peltzes will return to Florida in mid-November, as they routinely have in recent years, but the time Russell spends away from his hometown and the sport which he never quite seems to let go of, or it of him, is primarily for the purpose of recharging batteries that sometimes run down but are never completely sapped dry.

“He has another fight card on the 31^st of January at Parx (Casino and Racing, in Bensalem, Pa.),” Linda Peltz noted, a sure sign that Russell will again be returning to familiar turf like a swallow finding its way back to Capistrano.

But what about Russell’s increasingly frequent suggestions that he is finally prepared to whittle down his boxing duties, if not eliminate them altogether?

“It’s up to him,” Linda said. “I just want to see him happy. Whatever makes him happy makes me happy.”

The man himself certainly seemed content enough during an event that had been labeled as “Blood, Sweat & 50 Years,” the culmination of a week’s worth of kudos that included his ceremonial signing of the “Spectrum S,” the oversized letter that hung on the iconic South Philly sports and music venue until it was demolished in 2009. The space where the Spectrum, for which Peltz was director of boxing from 1972 to ’80, once stood is now a parking lot adjacent to Citizens Bank Park, home of baseball’s Philadelphia Phillies. Members of the Philadelphia City Council also presented a resolution honoring Peltz’s contribution to the city over the past half-century.

“I think everybody had a good time,” said Peltz, who did not address the near-capacity-crowd but was conspicuously visible in his front-row ringside seat. “It was a nice evening. I’m very honored and humbled by it.”

For the record, the main event was a six-round unanimous decision for 20-year-old junior welterweight Colombian Victor Padilla (6-0, 5 KOs), now living in Berlin, N.J., over Romain Tomas (8-3, 1 KO), a Frenchman now living in Brooklyn, N.Y. It marked the first time in Peltz’s five-decade career he had been involved in a card headlined by a six-rounder, but then the all the fighters who took their turn in the ring had to understand that their roles were in support of someone who might never have another night quite like this.

“It was a lot of stress putting this show together and keeping it together,” Peltz said. “We had nine competitive fights, and I’m glad about that. Honestly, I just want to manage and advise fighters in the future. Making matches is too hard today. If you knew what we had to go through, bailing one guy out of jail this week and having another guy pull out with some bogus illness …”

Peltz made his reputation by making competitive fights, not by feeding a procession of imported designated victims to house fighters with artificially inflated records, which makes him even more of an anachronism than he would be had he shown up for his golden anniversary in the polyester leisure suits he favored for a time in the 1970s. He said too many managers just want to pad their fighters’ records with setups on the way to undeserved big paydays, a trend which he said is even more insidious and difficult to eliminate now than it has been in the past.

The likelihood is that Peltz will eventually turn over even more of his business operation to Michelle Rosado, of Raging Babe Promotions, a protégé who said boxing in general, and specifically in and around Philadelphia, would suffer if her mentor holds fast to his intention to wash his hands of matchmaking. It was Rosado, better-versed in social media and other 21^st century marketing strategies than her old-school role model, who orchestrated most if not all of the golden anniversary festivities

“Matchmaking alone is like a full-time job,” Rosado said. “There’s an art to it. You really have to be crafty at it, and nobody is better at doing it than Russell. I tell him, `You just do the matchmaking, because you’re a genius at it, and I’ll do everything else.’”

Obviously, Peltz and Rosado will have to put their heads together to come up with a distribution of duties that can leave both parties satisfied.

“I can’t let him leave yet,” Rosado said of Peltz’s eyeing of any sort of exit. “I’m not ready for him to retire, I’m not ready for him to go to Florida. He’s still too good and still too sharp to give this up. Philly needs him. I need him. I’m not letting him go anywhere.”

Although there were many faces present that were or should have been familiar to knowledgable boxing people – among those in attendance were Bernard Hopkins, Teddy Atlas, WBC light heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk (who takes on IBF titlist Artur Beterbiev in a unification showdown at the 2300 Arena on Oct. 18), Lou DiBella and Golden Boy president Eric Gomez – it was curious that the only fighters who had fought on Peltz shows were Hopkins (two bouts at the Blue Horizon early in B-Hop’s career), George Hill (now a ringside judge, but a onetime heavyweight who appeared on Peltz’s debut card on Sept. 30, 1969) and former IBF super welterweight champion Robert “Bam Bam” Hines. It would have been nice if some of Peltz’s most popular regulars, like “Joltin’” Jeff Chandler, Charles Brewer, “Rockin’” Rodney Moore, Stanley “Kitten” Hayward, Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts and Eugene “Cyclone” Hart had dropped by, but that might be a matter for another day.

In other bouts:

*Junior middleweights Isaiah Wise (7-2-2, 4 KOs), of North Philadelphia, and Roque Zapata (6-2-5), of Culpepper, Va., by way of his native Panama, fought to a six-round draw in a do-over of their Dec. 2, 2016, bout, which Zapata won on a four-round majority decision.

*Sydney Maccow (7-8, 3 KOs), a junior welter from Brooklyn, scored a six-round UD over North Philadelphia’s Marcel Rivers (7-2, 4 KOs), a fight in which both participants went down once.

*Lightweight Gerardo Martinez (5-1, 1 KO), of Coatesville, Pa., by way of Mexico, scored a five-round – yes, that’s right – unanimous decision over veteran journeyman Osnel Charles (13-20-1, 2 KOs), of Atlantic City, N.J.

*Welterweight Shinard Bunch (3-1, 3 KOs), of Trenton, N.J., took care of business quickly in scoring a first-round knockout of Baltimore’s Kevin Womack (9-19-3, 7 KOs).

*West Philly lightweight Shamar Fulton Banks (4-0-1, 3 KOs) also made it a short night in scoring a first-round stoppage of Leonardo Kenon (3-8, 1 KO), of Quincy, Fla.

*Sahret Delgado (8-0, 7 KOs), a Puerto Rican heavyweight now fighting out of Berlin, N.J., was obliged to go the four-round distance for the first time in winning a four-round UD over Joel Caudle (8-4-2, 5 KOs), of Raleigh, N.C. Their combined weight was 520.4 pounds.

*Lightweight Christopher Burgos (2-4-1, 1 KO) scored a four-round UD over Tyree Arnold (0-3) in an all- North Philly pairing.

*Seifullah Jihad Wise (4-7, 1 KO), a North Philly lightweight, came away with a four-round UD over Vinnie Denierio (3-7, 1 KO), of Elmira, N.Y.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel

To comment on this story in The Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Bernard Fernandez

Up Next

Fast Results from NYC: A Fast Start Lifts GGG over Tenacious Derevyanchenko

Don't Miss

Three Punch Combo: Building a Case for Derevyanchenko and More

Jorge Garcia is the TSS Fighter of the Month for April

Published

4 hours ago

April 28, 2025

Arne K. Lang

Jorge-Garcia-is-the-TSS-Fighter-of-the-Month-for-April

Jorge Garcia has a lot in common with Mexican countrymen Emanuel Navarrete and Rafael Espinoza. In common with those two, both reigning world title-holders, Garcia is big for his weight class and bubbled out of obscurity with a triumph forged as a heavy underdog in a match contested on American soil.

Garcia had his “coming of age party” on April 19 in the first boxing event at the new Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California (roughly 35 miles north of San Diego), a 7,500-seat facility whose primary tenant is an indoor soccer team. It was a Golden Boy Promotions event and in the opposite corner was a Golden Boy fighter, Charles Conwell.

A former U.S. Olympian, Conwell was undefeated (21-0, 16 KOs) and had won three straight inside the distance since hooking up with Golden Boy whose PR department ballyhooed him as the most avoided fighter in the super welterweight division. At prominent betting sites, Conwell was as high as a 12/1 favorite.

The lanky Garcia was 32-4 (26 KOs) heading in, but it was easy to underestimate him as he had fought extensively in Tijuana where the boxing commission is notoriously docile and in his home state of Sinaloa. This would be only his second fight in the U.S. However, it was noteworthy in hindsight that three of his four losses were by split decision.

Garcia vs. Conwell was a robust affair. He and Conwell were credited with throwing 1451 punches combined. In terms of punches landed, there was little to choose between them but the CompuBox operator saw Garcia landing more power punches in eight of the 12 rounds. At the end, the verdict was split but there was no controversy.

An interested observer was Sebastian Fundora who was there to see his sister Gabriela defend her world flyweight titles. Sebastian owns two pieces of the 154-pound world title where the #1 contender per the WBO is Xander Zayas who keeps winning, but not with the verve of his earlier triumphs.

With his upset of Charles Conwell, Jorge Garcia has been bumped into the WBO’s #2 slot. Regardless of who he fights next, Garcia will earn the biggest payday of his career.

Honorable mention: Aaron McKenna

McKenna was favored to beat veteran campaigner Liam Smith in the co-feature to the Eubank-Benn battle this past Saturday in London, but he was stepping up in class against a former world title-holder who had competed against some of the top dogs in the middleweight division and who had famously stopped Chris Eubank Jr in the first of their two encounters. Moreover, the venue, Tottenham Hotspur, the third-largest soccer stadium in England, favored the 36-year-old Liverpudlian who was accustomed to a big fight atmosphere having fought Canelo Alvarez before 50,000-plus at Arlington Stadium in Texas.

McKenna, from the small town of Monaghan, Ireland, wasn’t overwhelmed by the occasion. With his dad Feargal in his corner and his fighting brother Stephen McKenna cheering him on from ringside, Aaron won a wide decision in his first 12-round fight, punctuating his victory by knocking Smith to his knees with a body punch in the 12^th round. In fact, if he hadn’t had a point deducted for using his elbow, the Irishman would have pitched a shutout on one of the scorecards.

“There might not be a more impressive example of a fighter moving up in class,” wrote Tris Dixon of the 25-year-old “Silencer” who improved his ledger to 20-0 (10).

Photo credits: Garcia/Conwell photo compliments of Cris Esqueda/Golden Boy; McKenna-Smith provided by Mark Robinson/Matchroom

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Published

2 days ago

April 27, 2025

David A. Avila

Chris-Eubank-Jr-Outlasts-Conor-Benn-at-Tottenham-Hotsour-Stadium

Feudal bragging rights belong to Chris Eubank Jr. who out-lasted Conor Benn to
emerge victorious by unanimous decision in a non-title middleweight match held in
London on Saturday.

Fighting for their family heritage Eubank (35-3, 26 KOs) and Benn (23-1, 14 KOs)
continued the battle between families started 35 years ago by their fathers at Tottenham
Hotspur Stadium.

More than 65,000 fans attended.

Though Eubank Jr. had a weight and height advantage and a record of smashing his
way to victory via knockout, he had problems hurting the quicker and more agile Benn.
And though Benn had the advantage of moving up two weight divisions and forcing
Eubank to fight under a catch weight, the move did not weaken him much.

Instead, British fans and boxing fans across the world saw the two family rivals pummel
each other for all 12 rounds. Neither was able to gain separation.

Eubank looked physically bigger and used a ramming left jab to connect early in the
fight. Benn immediately showed off his speed advantage and surprised many with his
ability to absorb a big blow.Chris Eubank Jr Outlasts Conor Benn at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Benn scrambled around with his quickness and agility and scored often with bigcounters.

It took him a few rounds to stop overextending himself while delivering power shots.

In the third round Benn staggered Eubank with a left hook but was unable to follow up
against the dangerous middleweight who roared back with flurries of blows.

Eubank was methodic in his approach always moving forward, always using his weight
advantage via the shoulder to force Benn backward. The smaller Benn rocketed
overhand rights and was partly successful but not enough to force Eubank to retreat.
In the seventh round a right uppercut snapped Benn’s head violently but he was
undeterred from firing back. Benn’s chin stood firm despite Eubank’s vaunted power and
size advantage.

“I didn’t know he had that in him,” Eubank said.

Benn opened strong in the eighth round with furious blows. And though he connected
he was unable to seriously hurt Eubank. And despite being drained by the weight loss,
the middleweight fighter remained strong all 12 rounds.

There were surprises from both fighters.

Benn was effective targeting the body. Perhaps if he had worked the body earlier he
would have found a better result.

With only two rounds remaining Eubank snapped off a right uppercut again and followed
up with body shots. In the final stanza Eubank pressed forward and exchanged with the
smaller Benn until the final bell. He simply out-landed the fighter and impressed all three
judges who scored it 116-112 for Eubank.

Eubank admitted he expected a knockout win but was satisfied with the victory.
“I under-estimated him,” Eubank said.

Benn was upset by the loss but recognized the reasons.

“He worked harder toward the end,” said Benn.

McKenna Wins

In his first test in the elite level Aaron McKenna (20-0, 10 KOs) showed his ability to fight
inside or out in soundly defeating former world champion Liam Smith (33-5-1, 20 KOs)
by unanimous decision to win a regional WBA middleweight title.

Smith has made a career out of upsetting young upstarts but discovered the Irish fighter
more than capable of mixing it up with the veteran. It was a rough fight throughout the
12 rounds but McKenna showed off his abilities to fight as a southpaw or right-hander
with nary a hiccup.

McKenna had trained in Southern California early in his career and since that time he’s
accrued a variety of ways to fight. He was smooth and relentless in using his longer
arms and agility against Smith on the outside or in close.

In the 12 th round, McKenna landed a perfectly timed left hook to the ribs and down went
Smith. The former champion got up and attempted to knock out the tall
Irish fighter but could not.

All three judges scored in favor of McKenna 119-108, 117-109, 118-108.

Other Bouts
Anthony Yarde (27-3) defeated Lyndon Arthur (24-3) by unanimous decision after 12 rounds. in a light heavyweight match. It was the third time they met. Yarde won the last two fights.

Chris Billam-Smith (21-2) defeated Brandon Glanton (20-3) by decision. It was his first
fight since losing the WBO cruiserweight world title to Gilberto Ramirez last November.

Viddal Riley (13-0) out-worked Cheavon Clarke (10-2) in a 12-round back-and-forth-contest to win a unanimous decision.

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!

Avila Perspective, Chap. 323: Benn vs Eubank Family Feud and More

Published

4 days ago

April 24, 2025

David A. Avila

Avila-Perspective,-Chap.-323:-Benn-vs-Eubank-Family-Feud-and-More.jpg

Next generation rivals Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jr. carry on the family legacy of feudal warring in the prize ring on Saturday.

This is huge in British boxing.

Eubank (34-3, 25 KOs) holds the fringe IBO middleweight title but won’t be defending it against the smaller welterweight Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) on Saturday, April 26, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. DAZN will stream the Matchroom Boxing card.

This is about family pride.

The parents of Eubank and Benn actually began the feud in the 1990s.

Papa Nigel Benn fought Papa Chris Eubank twice. Losing as a middleweight in November 1990 at Birmingham, England, then fighting to a draw as a super middleweight in October 1993 in Manchester. Both were world title fights.

Eubank was undefeated and won the WBO middleweight world title in 1990 against Nigel Benn by knockout. He defended it three times before moving up and winning the vacant WBO super middleweight title in September 1991. He defended the super middleweight title 14 times before suffering his first pro defeat in March 1995 against Steve Collins.

Benn won the WBO middleweight title in April 1990 against Doug DeWitt and defended it once before losing to Eubank in November 1990. He moved up in weight and took the WBC super middleweight title from Mauro Galvano in Italy by technical knockout in October 1992. He defended the title nine times until losing in March 1996. His last fight was in November 1996, a loss to Steve Collins.

Animosity between the two families continues this weekend in the boxing ring.

Conor Benn, the son of Nigel, has fought mostly as a welterweight but lately has participated in the super welterweight division. He is several inches shorter in height than Eubank but has power and speed. Kind of a British version of Gervonta “Tank” Davis.

“It’s always personal, every opponent I fight is personal. People want to say it’s strictly business, but it’s never business. If someone is trying to put their hands on me, trying to render me unconscious, it’s never business,” said Benn.

This fight was scheduled twice before and cut short twice due to failed PED tests by Benn. The weight limit agreed upon is 160 pounds.

Eubank, a natural middleweight, has exchanged taunts with Benn for years. He recently avenged a loss to Liam Smith with a knockout victory in September 2023.

“This fight isn’t about size or weight. It’s about skill. It’s about dedication. It’s about expertise and all those areas in which I excel in,” said Eubank. “I have many, many more years of experience over Conor Benn, and that will be the deciding factor of the night.”

Because this fight was postponed twice, the animosity between the two feuding fighters has increased the attention of their fans. Both fighters are anxious to flatten each other.

“He’s another opponent in my way trying to crush my dreams. trying to take food off my plate and trying to render me unconscious. That’s how I look at him,” said Benn.

Eubank smiles.

“Whether it’s boxing, whether it’s a gun fight. Defense, offense, foot movement, speed, power. I am the superior boxer in each of those departments and so many more – which is why I’m so confident,” he said.

Supporting Bout

Former world champion Liam Smith (33-4-1, 20 KOs) tangles with Ireland’s Aaron McKenna (19-0, 10 KOs) in a middleweight fight set for 12 rounds on the Benn-Eubank undercard in London.

“Beefy” Smith has long been known as one of the fighting Smith brothers and recently lost to Eubank a year and a half ago. It was only the second time in 38 bouts he had been stopped. Saul “Canelo” Alvarez did it several years ago.

McKenna is a familiar name in Southern California. The Irish fighter fought numerous times on Golden Boy Promotion cards between 2017 and 2019 before returning to the United Kingdom and his assault on continuing the middleweight division. This is a big step for the tall Irish fighter.

It’s youth versus experience.

“I’ve been calling for big fights like this for the last two or three years, and it’s a fight I’m really excited for. I plan to make the most of it and make a statement win on Saturday night,” said McKenna, one of two fighting brothers.

Monster in L.A.

Japan’s super star Naoya “Monster” Inoue arrived in Los Angeles for last day workouts before his Las Vegas showdown against Ramon Cardenas on Sunday May 4, at T-Mobile Arena. ESPN will televise and stream the Top Rank card.

It’s been four years since the super bantamweight world champion performed in the US and during that time Naoya (29-0, 26 KOs) gathered world titles in different weight divisions. The Japanese slugger has also gained fame as perhaps the best fighter on the planet. Cardenas is 26-1 with 14 KOs.

Pomona Fights

Super featherweights Mathias Radcliffe (9-0-1) and Ezequiel Flores (6-4) lead a boxing card called “DMG Night of Champions” on Saturday April 26, at the historic Fox Theater in downtown Pomona, Calif.

Michaela Bracamontes (11-2-1) and Jesus Torres Beltran (8-4-1) will be fighting for a regional WBC super featherweight title. More than eight bouts are scheduled.

Doors open at 6 p.m. For ticket information go to: www.tix.com/dmgnightofchampions

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN 9 a.m. Conor Benn (23-0) vs Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3); Liam Smith (33-4-1) vs Aaron McKenna (19-0).

To comment on this story in the Fight Forum CLICK HERE

Post Views: 0

Share The Sweet Science experience!