J. Russell Peltz

Peltz in 2010

J Russell Peltz (born December 9, 1946) is an American boxing promoter. A member of both the International Boxing Hall of Fame and the World Boxing Hall of Fame, Peltz has promoted fights in Philadelphia at venues such as the Arena, Spectrum, The Blue Horizon, most of the Atlantic City casinos, the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia, and the PARX Casino in Bensalem, PA.

Early life and education

Peltz was born in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia. His family moved to Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, after he finished second grade. He became a boxing fan at age 12 and saw his first live fight at age 14. He attended Lower Merion High School, graduating in 1964.

He attended Temple University, where he majored in journalism and was named the Outstanding Male Journalism Graduate in 1968.

Career

After his junior year at Temple University, Peltz was hired on the sports copy desk at the Evening & Sunday Bulletin in Philadelphia, working the midnight shift from the summer of 1967 through the summer of 1969.

When he was unable to secure a job as a boxing writer, he left the Bulletin to become a boxing promoter. His first boxing card in Philadelphia was on September 30, 1969, with the main event at the Blue Horizon featuring Bennie Briscoe vs. Tito Marshall. Briscoe won by knockout, and the Blue Horizon hosted a standing-room-only crowd of 1,606.

After promoting at various venues in Philadelphia for four years, including the well-known 7,000-seat Arena in West Philadelphia, Peltz was named Director of Boxing at the 18,000-seat Spectrum in South Philadelphia. During his tenure at the Spectrum, from 1973 to 1980, Peltz became one of the most successful local boxing promoters in the world. Some top Philly area fighters Peltz showcased include Bennie Briscoe (whom Peltz promoted for 10 years), Willie Monroe, Bobby Watts, Eugene Cyclone Hart, Stanley "Kitten" Hayward, Mike Rossman, Sammy Goss, Richie Kates, Tyrone Everett, George Benton, Curtis Parker, Jeff Chandler, and Matthew Saad Muhammad.

Middleweight champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler fought five times for Peltz at the Spectrum. Other out-of-town fighters who boxed for Peltz at the Spectrum included Marvin Johnson, Ernie Terrell, Earnie Shavers, Michael Spinks, Emile Griffith, Thomas Hearns, Roberto Durán, Alfredo Escalera, Jesse Burnett, Yaqui López, Ron Lyle, Don Fullmer, Billy Douglas, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, and Bobby Chacon.

When Tyrone Everett challenged Alfredo Escalera at the Spectrum for the WBC junior lightweight title in 1976, the 16,019 in attendance set the record for the largest crowd ever to watch a fight indoors in Pennsylvania. In 1978, when Bennie Briscoe faced Marvelous Marvin Hagler at the Spectrum in a 10-round match, the 14,950 fans in attendance established the record for the largest indoor crowd in Pennsylvania history for a non-championship fight.

Peltz guided a fighter to the world title for the first time in 1978 when Marvin Johnson won the WBC light-heavyweight title by stopping Mate Parlov in Marsala, Sicily. Johnson also won the WBA version of the title twice, in 1979 and 1986. Peltz also promoted Jeff Chandler, the Hall-of-Fame bantamweight champion, who claimed the WBA crown in 1980 by knocking out Julian Solís in Miami, Florida. Chandler held the title for nearly four years and successfully defended it nine times.

After the rise of casinos in Atlantic City in the late 1970s, Peltz began promoting at the now-defunct Sands Atlantic City and Resorts Atlantic City, while continuing to promote boxing shows in Philadelphia. He also promoted fight cards at most of the Atlantic City casinos, including Bally's, Harrah's Marina, Trump Castle, Caesars, The Claridge, and the Playboy Hotel & Casino.

During those years, Peltz promoted several world champions, including Charlie "Choo Choo" Brown (IBF lightweight champion), Gary Hinton (IBF junior welterweight champion), Charles Williams (IBF light-heavyweight), Robert Hines (IBF junior middleweight champion), and Charles Brewer (IBF super middleweight champion). Another notable fighter promoted by Peltz was middleweight Frank Fletcher, who became one of network television's most popular fighters, appearing in six exciting bouts on NBC from 1981 through 1984. Additionally, Aaron Pryor made the last successful defense of his IBF junior welterweight title against Gary Hinton on a Peltz-promoted card at the Sands in 1985.

Other Peltz fighters who challenged for world titles during those years included Jerry Martin (light-heavyweight), Tony Thornton (super middleweight), Bryant Brannon (super middleweight), Billy Irwin (lightweight), and Tony Green (featherweight).

Through the 1980s and 1990s, Peltz became synonymous with boxing at the Blue Horizon, including an eight-year stretch (1993–2001) of consecutive sellouts in the 1,346-seat venue. World champions, both past and future, who boxed for Peltz at the Blue Horizon included Tim Witherspoon, Bronco McKart, Alfred Kotey, Julio Borboa, Prince Charles Williams, Fernando Vargas, Choo Choo Brown, Nate Miller, Dwight Qawi, Gary Hinton, Bernard Hopkins, Matthew Saad Muhammad, Jeff Chandler, Antonio Tarver, Frankie Randall, Bonecrusher Smith and Orlando Canizales. Peltz was also a partner with New Jersey–based Main Events in promoting the late boxing champion Arturo Gatti from 1991 to 2004. Additionally, Peltz guided Kassim Ouma of Uganda to the IBF junior middleweight title in 2004, and twelve years later, he guided Jason Sosa of Camden, NJ, to the WBA junior lightweight title.

Peltz is active as the manager/consultant to half a dozen boxers. In 2021, he wrote and published a book titled Thirty Dollars and a Cut Eye, detailing his 50 years in boxing. He is also the president of Peltz Boxing Promotions, Inc., in Philadelphia.

Personal life

Peltz met his first wife, Patricia McKeown, in college. They were married in August 1969, separated in June 1975, and divorced in February 1976. He then began dating Linda Sablosky, a classmate from Lower Merion High School. They married in June 1977. Their oldest son, Matthew, passed away in May 2017 at the age of 38. Their second son, Daniel, lives in Boca Raton, Florida, with his wife, Lauren. Russell and Linda have six grandchildren.

Awards and achievements

• Outstanding Male Journalism Graduate Temple University (1968)
• Pennsylvania Boxing Hall of Fame (1978)
• James J. Walker Memorial Award from the Boxing Writer's Association of America (1999)
• World Boxing Hall of Fame (2000)
• Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame (2002)
• International Boxing Hall of Fame (2004)
• New Jersey Boxing Hall of Fame (2008)
• Temple University School of Communications & Theatre Hall of Fame (2010)
• Pennsylvania Lehigh Valley Sports Hall of Fame (2015)
• Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame (2017)
• Lower Merion High School Distinguished Alumni (2018)
• Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame (2020)
• Indiana Boxing Hall of Fame (2022)
• West Coast Boxing Hall of Fame Book of the Year (2023)