![]() Public and legal outrage from this bout resulted in the establishment of the Philadelphia Rules for boxing. Weeden was arrested for his participation in the bout and died one year later in a Trenton prison. Walker lost the fight and died from injuries sustained in the contest. ![]() In 1876, two Philadelphia bare-knuckle fighters, “Philadelphia” Jimmy Weeden (1846-77) and Billy Walker (1857-76), fought before a crowd of gamblers on a barge near Pennsville, New Jersey. The greater Philadelphia area embraced the sport of boxing as far back as the days of bare-knuckle boxing, with great fighters becoming champions of their neighborhoods. The auditorium of the legendary Blue Horizon, no longer open, gave spectators a bird’s-eye view of the action. Thousands of young people who sought a better life trained in those gyms, where, frequently, they found escape from the hazards of gang violence, local rivalries, criminal activity, and drugs. Over time, Philadelphia-area boxing was supported by a wide network of more than fifty gyms into the twenty-first century. Nearby communities such as Camden, New Jersey, and Easton, Pennsylvania, also produced world champions. Over two dozen world boxing champions throughout various weight classes called Philadelphia home. Philadelphia, the Place that Loves You Backįor over one hundred years, Philadelphia neighborhoods, for better and worse, played a significant role in molding fighters.
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