Brothers bring boxing back to Fenway after 70 years and hope to revitalize the sport in Boston

For the first time in nearly years boxing is returning to Boston s famed Fenway Park The -fight card is the culmination of years of effort by twin brothers and longtime residents schoolteachers who grew up in Watertown and want to revitalize boxing in the city that was home to particular of the greatest athletes in the sport s history It s also symbolic of a shift back to the roots of the oldest ballpark in Major League Baseball to when it wasn t just used for Red Sox games but for other sports and political events Largest part people s experience there is solely related to baseball announced Richard Johnson Fenway expert and curator at The Sports Museum in Boston But the fact is that this year you can see an event that ll be very similar to what your grandparents saw Promoters Mark and Matt Nolan want Fight Night at Fenway scheduled for Saturday to be both a time capsule and time machine taking spectators back to boxing s glory days and what the sport can be for the city in the future The Nolans got their license to organize fights last year with the goal of bringing boxing back to Boston After Fenway That s mission accomplished Matt Nolan commented It s not just like our dream it s everybody s dream every boxer on planet Earth he commented Just the idea that particular kid can fight his way to Fenway Park It s like hitting the lottery You can t you can t beat it There s nothing comparable A rich history Boston has played a long and impressive role in American boxing history and the improvement of the sport itself announced Johnson author of Field of Our Fathers An Illustrated History of Fenway Park The city was home to Boston s Strong Boy John L Sullivan born in to Irish immigrant parents and widely considered America s first sports superstar The first heavyweight champion of the world he was as famous as Muhammad Ali was in his time Sam Langford a Black Canadian-born boxer moved to Boston as a teenager but was blocked from competing in the world championships by racist policies and is considered one of the greatest non-champions in boxing Other boxing stars with Boston connections include Marvin Hagler and Rocky Marciano of nearby Brockton The Boston Bomber Tony DeMarco whose statue raises his fists at passersby in Boston s North End was the last fighter to win in the ring at Fenway in For a time after it was built Fenway Park was the only outdoor venue with a notable seating limit in Boston making it a destination for all kinds of events including boxing starting in After new owners took over in the park became a venue for concerts and sporting events like hockey snowboarding Irish football and curling Back in the day it was sort of the Swiss Army knife of sports facilities in Boston And it s returned to that a little bit of everything So returning boxing to the park is just a nod to the past Johnson reported Other venues can feel more corporate and sterile but Fenway is living history declared Johnson who calls it the largest open-air museum in New England A different pitch Mark Nolan announced it s not for lack of trying that no one has hosted a boxing fight at Fenway in almost years But countless promoters couldn t make a pitch that landed with ballpark management The Nolans who teach full time and own a boxing gym in Waltham where people can train regardless of their ability to pay were different After success hosting events at other venues Mark Nolan noted Fenway Sports Group connected to their everyman appeal and decided to give them a shot The brothers fell in love with boxing while accompanying their father a boat captain to the gym as kids When they expanded from coaching amateur boxers to professionals five years ago they were dismayed by what they ascertained shows full of uneven fights set up to make the promoters as much money as accomplishable with established amateurs fighting people who have no right putting gloves on in any maximum whatsoever in venues like high school gymnasiums Fighters weren t being paid fairly and contracts weren t transparent They came up with a simple business plan pick good venues pay fighters well and only host matches in Boston proper They mentioned a lot of promoters sell fighters but they re focused on selling fights fans want to see They re making sure that every fight is well-matched revealed Thomas The Kid O Toole a fighter from rural Galway Ireland who has lived in Boston for the past two years Nobody wants to see someone go in and just knock their opponent out right away and beat them up for four six eight rounds They want to see a competitive fight O Toole went professional in and is undefeated with fights He mentioned his fight against St Louis-born Vaughn Da Animal Alexander at Fenway will be the biggest test of his career Massachusetts-born Lexi Lil Savage Bolduc will compete in her fourth professional fight She faces Sarah Couillard in a rematch after coming out on the losing end of a majority draw at the Royale Fighting at Fenway I think adds a little bit of pressure because I m local I grew up in Mass and idolized a lot of players as I was growing up But at the same time I m trying to use it just as a huge opportunity and really soak in the moment she mentioned Pressure makes diamonds To be able to kind of stand on that same ground of various of the the bulk accomplished athletes it s really remarkable she declared