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Boston, MA
Brothers bring boxing back to Fenway after 70 years and hope to revitalize the sport in Boston – The Boston Globe
“Most people’s experience there is solely related to baseball,” said 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 said.
“It’s not just like our dream, it’s everybody’s dream — every boxer on planet Earth,” he said. “Just the idea that some 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.”
Boston has played a long and impressive role in American boxing history and the development of the sport itself, said 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 1858 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 1956.
For a time after it was built, Fenway Park was the only outdoor venue with a significant seating capacity in Boston, making it a destination for all kinds of events, including boxing starting in 1920.
After new owners took over in 2002, the park became a venue for a variety of activities, including concerts and sporting events such as 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 said.
Other venues can feel “more corporate and sterile,” but Fenway is living history, said Johnson, who calls it the “largest open-air museum in New England.”
Mark Nolan said it’s not for lack of trying that no one has hosted a boxing fight at Fenway in almost 70 years. But many 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 said 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 found: shows full of uneven fights set up to make the promoters as much money as possible, with established amateurs fighting people who “have no right putting gloves on in any capacity 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 said 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,” said 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 2021 and is undefeated with 13 fights. He said 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 said. ”Pressure makes diamonds.
“To be able to kind of stand on that same ground of some of the most accomplished athletes, it’s really remarkable,” she said.
Surprise: Another weekend and there’s more rain on the way. It’s bad enough we’ve had to post a First Alert.
For now, we’ll watch as clouds thicken today. We’ll squeeze out some drops later this afternoon and evening.
A weather maker is winding up in Canada, wrapping in cold air. All of that is going to dive down to New England.
We’re in the thick of it tomorrow. Rain will be coming at us in bursts with some dry time in between. Winds will likely push past 50 mph in Boston.
Those winds will eat away at temperatures; with wind chills barely above freezing. And no – not just in the morning – but the afternoon, too!
It’s so cold there’s the threat of snow as that rain bumps into colder air over the Berkshires, Worcester Hills and southern New Hampshire right up to Mount Washington.
The snow isn’t going to pile up but just know there could be some flakes flying over our highest hills.
The blue on our Futurecast map marks the spots where snow could mix with rain.
Rain spins out by Saturday evening but not before dumping about half an inch over Boston.
We’ll try to salvage the rest of the weekend with temperatures in the upper 60s by Sunday. Still, there’s the threat of bits and pieces of rain.
By the way, this isn’t any weekend, it’s the last weekend of spring. Meteorological summer starts on June 1.
The first day of summer remains drab and dreary with more rain chances and temperatures in the low 60 on Monday.
Federal immigration demands are once again centered on Massachusetts.
The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday sent three letters to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox, Suffolk County Sheriff Steven Tompkins and Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden demanding, among other things, information on how many ICE detainers BPD has received and declined to honor from 2022 to 2026 and any communication between the three departments related to immigration.
House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said in a statement that “releasing repeat criminals back to the streets solely because of their immigration status is crazy, and that’s exactly what Boston is doing.”
But Democrats push back on that framing.
“You’re familiar with Jim Jordan and his antics,” said Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey. “This is more circus, it’s more theater and it’s not making our community safe.”
A spokesperson for the City of Boston wrote, “the city has provided this information many times…” going on to say “…these policies are part of keeping Boston the safest major city in America.”
The letters call for the documents to be sent to the House Judiciary Committee by June 10th at 5:00 pm. District Attorney Hayden’s office told NBC 10 they are reviewing the letter, neither Commissioner Cox or Sheriff Tompkins responded to requests for comment.
On the Market
Ted Kennedy Jr. speaks on the importance of his late mother’s Boston home, now for sale.
At first glance, Joan Bennett Kennedy’s Back Bay home may not appear all that unusual, but the endless stories held within its walls illustrate how a sacred space became one woman’s shelter from the storm.
After divorcing Ted Kennedy in 1982, Bennett Kennedy returned to Boston and moved into 250 Beacon St. #10, and remained there for more than four decades until her death at age 89 in October. Now, her three-bedroom, three-bathroom home, which measures 2,075 square feet, is on the market at $2.59 million.
“Her home really played an important part in the transformation of her life,” her son, Ted Kennedy Jr., told the Globe. “She was a newly divorced woman coming back, trying to reestablish her roots in Boston, and she had her music, which was part of her unique identity, apart from being married to my father. She was seeking to reinvent herself and live on her own terms.”
It was there at 250 Beacon where Bennett Kennedy restarted her life. She earned a master’s degree in music education at 44, and became a staple on the Boston classical music scene, thanks to her lifelong dedication to the piano. But it was also where she faced significant struggles, ranging from depression to alcoholism. She didn’t hide her battles at a time when they weren’t commonly discussed.
“She paved the way for many other women who were suffering in silence,” said Kennedy Jr. “The Boston community just took her in and provided her with friendship and support.”
The circa-1925 building features an elegant lobby that leads to the elevators. Inside the fifth-floor unit, a foyer flows into a hallway and into the spacious living room, where hardwood floors run throughout and a wood-burning fireplace sits under a unique carved mantel surrounded by marble. But it’s the windows that capture the eyes, with views of the treetops and the Charles River in the distance.
“She would sit at her piano in the condo every afternoon for hours,” said Kennedy, who noted that the home later served as the spot where his mother penned “The Joy of Classical Music,” a guide for introducing classical music to families. Prominent musical figures, including John Williams, Seiji Ozawa, and Arthur Fiedler, were frequent guests.
The open floor plan continues in the dining area and library, filled with built-in bookcases and oversized windows.
The living room fireplace is two-sided; on its opposite side is the primary bedroom suite, with built-in bookshelves and a massive bay window with beautiful views. The primary suite features an en-suite bathroom with a pink vanity.
“These front rooms, all three of them, the amount of glass and the size of these windows are just magnificent,” said Linda Barrett of Douglas Elliman, who has the listing and knew Kennedy for years. “Being on the fifth floor, she sat right at the tree line, looking at the Charles River.”
A second of three full bathrooms has elegant marble tiles and a step-in shower. Across the hallway are two closets for storage and the galley kitchen with green/blue cabinetry and stainless steel appliances.
There are three bedrooms, one with teal carpeting and ample built-in storage.
The home has central air, and the building has a live-in superintendent. The fee is $1,725.39 per month. The piano is not included as part of the sale.
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