The 2023 National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions took place last week at Harrah’s Casino in Chester. Participants from across the country descended on Chester to claim their place as a candidate for the Olympic trials. 

I joined my friends at the Hideout Cigar Lounge for a fight night party on Thursday which started with a great buffet at the lounge and then the short trip to the casino to take our VIP ringside seats at center ring giving us a perfect perch to see the action on all three rings. 

Fighters from small to large, male and female, participated in three-round battles to survive another day. The winners moved on day after day until the championship bouts on Saturday that only the best and most fit could ever get to after several straight days of boxing. 

I had a long conversation with Dan Mullarkey, the President of Pennsylvania Golden Glove boxing learning what it took to bring the national championship to Chester and how we can bring boxing tournaments to Chester on a regular basis. I assure you, we have a plan that will add boxing to Chester becoming a youth sports mecca adding tourism and business growth to the city. Dan shared with me the hundreds of hotel rooms the tournament booked and how their group was packing the Cracker Barrel every night in Ridley Park. They loved the easy access to Chester from the airport hotels and look forward to even better conveniences as Chester steps up its game in accommodating youth sports events like these in the future. 

Left: Dan Mullarkey and I. Right: The Pennsylvania Golden Gloves fighters, trainers, and executives along with a Chester City Councilman and a PA State Senator.