'New' Arena ready for rumble
Naim Nelson and Jerome Rodriquez will headline seven-bout card at the newly named and refurbished 2300 Arena.
THE LAST professional boxing card hosted at the warehouse-turned-fight venue that sits at Swanson and Ritner streets in South Philly took place in January 2012. It featured Bryant Jennings, well before he was Philadelphia's top heavyweight contender, and Maurice Byarm, in a bout televised on NBC Sports Network.
Tonight, the recently renamed 2300 Arena hosts a seven-bout card headlined by two other area boxers, in Philadelphia's Naim Nelson and Allentown's Jerome Rodriguez. Peltz Boxing and BAM Boxing are promoting the event. First fight is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Nelson fought a four-round bout on that 2012 card, but returns as the headliner in an eight-round junior welterweight fight. The 23-year-old enters 11-0 with one knockout as a pro after an amateur career consisting of 70 wins in 77 bouts. A graduate of North Philly's Academy of Essential Knowledge, he won five Philadelphia Golden Gloves titles as an amateur.
For Rodriguez, 27, this marks his first time fighting in a main event. He is 6-0 with two knockouts in his brief pro career.
Philadelphia heavyweights Joey Dawejko (9-3-2, 3KOs) and Mark Rideout (4-0-2, 1 KO) highlight the six undercard bouts in an eight-round fight. Also featured is undefeated Philadelphia lightweight Anthony Burgin (6-0, 1 KO); the 22-year-old will box fellow Philadelphian Ray Ellis (4-10-2, 2KOs) in a six-round fight.
Known by seemingly a different name every few years, the 2300 Arena is most recognized as ECW Arena, the Alhambra Arena, the Asylum Arena, or simply, the Arena. With the venue in the midst of renovations, this fight is part of what CEO/general manager Roger Artigiani called a "soft opening." The fully renovated facility is set to open in late September. Artigiani plans to install a sports bar by the entrance by October.
The building is best known as a wrestling arena - several scenes from the 2008 film "The Wrestler" starring Mickey Rourke were filmed there - and it is well known by wrestling fans around the world. Two weeks ago, a couple from Russia stopped by just to check out an empty arena and take a few pictures. The arena, named because it is located at 2300 S. Swanson St., is slated to host a wrestling event on June 14 and an MMA show on June 28. It recently hosted the Golden Gloves. When it's in full swing come the fall, Artigiani plans to also host comedy and theater shows.
"This place transforms into many different things," he said.