There was that small window of opportunity for Michelle ‘Raging Babe’ Rosado to proceed with her ‘Philly Special’ event, which was to take place March 27 at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  Just two more weeks and another 66 tickets remained for a sold-out show featuring a crosstown heat between local lightweights Stevie Ortiz and Damon Allen.

Instead, the only ticket that remained valid was for her flight back home to Phoenix once the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic forced the show's postponement back in mid-March. Now for the second time, Rosado’s Raging Babe promotional company has been forced to erase a fight date from the calendar, with plans for June 19 at the same venue no longer in play.

“This is a tough time to be a promoter who depends on the live gate,” stated Rosado. “Promotional companies that have television deals are able to put on shows with no fans. The middle-class promoters, those of us who need people in seats to make the events work financially, we’re out in the cold, temporarily.” 

Hopes of a rescheduled date of June 19 ever seeing the light of day continued to diminish due to the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic which forced the show’s original postponement. Philadelphia government officials established a three-phase plan to flatten the curve and for the city to eventually resume business as usual.

The city has only recently transitioned from “red phase” to “yellow phase”, the latter which still restricts non-essential businesses from re-opening and even with language discouraging gatherings as intimate as a family barbecue. Boxing events and other area businesses cannot take place until the city is cleared to enter the “green phase”, which carries an earliest—and extremely optimistic—target date of June 26.

Such progress is dependent upon the following four metrics to be met, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health dashboard: 

    Stable, decreasing, or low confirmed case counts over the past two weeks compared to previous two weeks

    Contacts of case are being monitored

    PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) positivity rate     Hospital bed use is 90 percent or lower per district population

Philadelphia has yet to meet the PCR positive rate requirements necessary to enter the next phase.

Rosado and her Raging Babe team have kept all parties up to date of the ongoing developments, ensuring a commitment remains in place for the show to go on hopefully one day soon. An announcement is due to come from Greg Sirb, executive director of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission on June 15—fittingly, Rosado’s birthday, and hopefully with good news.

“Philly Special has all the elements of any big television card,” said Rosado, who revealed that her company has fight dates on hold every month through the remainder of 2020. “We’ve got Philly fighters in very competitive matches. There’s a reason Philadelphia is known as a terrific fight town. These guys aren’t out there to be flashy or to pad their records.

“Some of them have big amateur careers, some are undefeated, most have compelling stories, but nobody on the card is expecting a 'gimme.' They come to fight, and the matchups that Hall-of-Fame matchmaker J Russell Peltz put together promise to be the kind of fights that make people fall in love with boxing. I can’t wait to get the green light, and we’re ready to go when that time comes.”

For now, all that can be done is for the experts to determine when it’s healthy and safe for the sport as a whole to resume. Promotional companies such as Top Rank have moved forward, as their alliance with cable giant ESPN provided the platform to stage closed-doors events in Las Vegas. Their series debuted on June 9 and will run at least through July.

Similar avenues are being explored by U.S. boxing-friendly outlets Showtime, Fox Sports and DAZN. Of course, those platforms are only of benefit to those with whom they already conduct regular business.

Industry newcomer Impact Network was due to air the ‘Philly Special’ card in March and was prepared to be on board for the rescheduled June 19 date. A recent company press release outlined a plan to move forward with fight dates in four locations—Las Vegas, Chicago, Detroit and Las Vegas. Noticeably absent from that list, of course, is Philadelphia, although that could change once the city is in a position to stage such events.

That said, the lack of assurances from any network hasn’t deterred the event's participants from staying ready for whenever the call comes to get back to work. 

"These boxers aren’t on a salary from a big-time manager or promoter,” points out Rosado. “They are in the gym every day, getting ready for their big shot. Many Philly fighters are known for working day jobs to keep afloat. We’ve got some amateur standouts who rely on this platform to showcase their skills and help their careers progress.

“The most important thing is keeping the fighters safe, their families and fans safe, and all the people involved with putting on an event safe.” 

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox