Bala Cynwyd’s Russell Peltz, one of the region’s most recognizable figures in boxing for half a century, takes on the world of boxing in Philadelphia once again in his new book, Thirty Dollars and a Cut Eye, writes Mark Zimmaro for the South Philly Review.

The famous promoter oversaw more than 1,000 boxing events as well as over 40 world championship fights.

Now, his experiences have been put down on paper in a book that chronicles 50 years of boxing in the City of Brotherly Love.

Peltz said he was hounded by many to write a book for years, but there was never enough time. Then the pandemic came, and he was finally able to write. For him, telling it like it is was the only option.

“There’s a whole generation of people who are sports fans now who have no idea how big boxing was in the country and Philadelphia was at the forefront of that,” Peltz said. “From the beginning of time until 1958, there were only three sports that mattered in the United States. There was baseball, horse racing, and boxing.”

Read more about Russell Peltz in the South Philly Review