Lets Get Ready to Rumble!

It’s not every day you wake up with the opportunity to buy a professional boxing ring. Yet on Sunday, April 10, Material Culture will do exactly that, offering bidders the chance to channel their inner "Rocky" when they sell Lot 337 in their April Estates: Antiques, Art, Collectibles, Asian & Decorative Art sale.

Rest assured, this isn’t just any old stretch of canvas. The Blue Horizon ring, being sold here in-situ (as pictured), was once center stage in one of the countrys most historic boxing venues. In fact, The Ring magazine once voted the 1,500 seat Blue Horizon the number-one boxing venue in the world, and Sports Illustrated called it the last great boxing venue in the country.

Once home to the Loyal Order of the Moose, which at its peak boasted the largest membership of any fraternal lodge in the world, Philadelphia’s Blue Horizon became a regular boxing venue in 1961. On December 2, 1997, the venue held its first world title fight when Charles Brewer defended his IBF Super Middleweight crown. The Blue Horizon also hosted international, regional, and state title fights before its closure in June 2010.

With the Blue Horizon site soon to be turned into an $18M hotel and restaurant complex, it’s clearly a case of “everything must go.” Which is great news for collectors, as mementos in all shapes and sizes get set to go under the hammer. Lot 345 – a Blue Horizon Budweiser neon sign – could bring some much-needed authenticity to your burgeoning man cave.

Speaking of authenticity, what better way to take in the all the day’s sporting action than to plant yourself down in Lot 327 – two pairs of original Blue Horizon Heywood Wakefield seats? Your experience is sure to be enriched...no matter how bad the Jets are playing.

Lot 342 - a pair of Everlast boxing gloves signed by Blue Horizon notables - really catches the eye with its brilliant red leather. Besides from being a prized piece of memorabilia, they could come in very handy next Thankgiving when things get a little out of hand...

What better way to finish off the look of your bar than by snaring one of these fantastic vintage boxing posters from the Blue Horizons glory days? Lot 349 - 1993 print announcing the USBA Middleweight Title fight between Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins and Wendell Hall, should fit the bill nicely.

Modern Cultures April Estates: Antiques, Art, Collectibles, Asian & Decorative Art sale is set down for Sunday, April 12th Online Auction, and contains over 500 lots.