bigger venues like the Arena and the Spectrum, but would return in 1974. Peltz would promote more fights at the Blue Horizon than anyone else in its history. The Peltz era brought Philadelphia greats such as Matthew Saad Muhammad, Bernard Hopkins, Cyclone Hart, Tim Witherspoon, Willie Monroe, Boogaloo Watts, Sammy Goss, Jeff Chandler and Bennie Briscoe. Peltz left the Blue Horizon in 2001, came back to promote one card in 2004 and three cards in 2009 for the last time. In 1994, the site was purchased by Vernoca L. Michael, Carol P. Ray, and Carol M.A. Whitaker. In 1998, Vernoca Michael became licensed as the first female African American boxing promoter in the state of Pennsylvania. She has promoted bouts since featuring established fighters such as Eddie Chambers, Yusef Mack, and Lajuan Simon. On December 2, 1997, the venue held its first world title fight when Peltz promoted Charles Brewer in a defense of his International Boxing Federation super middleweight crown. The Blue Horizon has also hosted international, regional and state title fights. In 2008, Ms. Michael was named one of Top 50 Women in Business in the State of Pennsylvania by Governor Ed Rendell. Michael has worked to make the building a cultural center for the surrounding neighborhood by creating a learning center with connections to Temple University and the University of Pennsylvania and a Philadelphia Boxing Museum. The venue also hosts special events, meetings, receptions, weddings, and cabarets. The Blue Horizon appears in the film Rocky V as some fight scenes involving Tommy Morrison's character "Tommy Gunn" were filmed there. The building was also used to film the boxing scenes in the movie Annapolis. The Blue Horizon was closed, reportedly due to tax problems, in June 2010. In January 2011, it was announced that $6 million had been granted to help West Philadelphia developer Mosaic Development Partners build an $18 million hotel-and-restaurant complex with a jazz bar and fitness center at the site of the Blue Horizon. In July 2013, Mosaic's plans called for the venue to be demolished in order to make way for a parking garage. As of July 2016, the venue along with the upgraded boxing ring remains untouched, abandoned and in remarkably good-to-pristine condition with virtually no signs of any interior damage or structural problems since its closing in 2010. References External links Famous Picture by Jon Stark taken at The Blue Horizon Phillyboxinghistory.com