The Legendary Blue Horizon Boxing Mural
The idea for a boxing mural originated in 1997 when Jane Golden saw a documentary about Muhammad Ali and thought he would be an interesting subject for a mural. A few months later, the legendary boxing venue Blue Horizon contacted Mural Arts Philadelphia and expressed interested in having a mural on their wall, a perfect location for a boxing-themed mural. Artist David McShane, with his expertise in capturing people’s images, was interested in doing this project.
Project partners thought it was best to feature three other boxers in the mural along with Muhammad Ali. Ali lived in Cherry Hill during his fighting days. Joe Frazier was selected because of his rivalry with Ali and the fact that he was a native Philadelphian. Larry Holmes is from Easton, Pa. He was called the Easton Assassin. George Foreman was not from Philly but participated in some of the most famous boxing matches against the other three fighters.
McShane divided the wall into four equal quarters so that each boxer would have his own space. He positioned the boxers so that they would roughly form an “X”. Background blues were added to compliment the tones of the figures and to offset the intensity of the colors.
Location Note: View of mural obscured by new construction on adjacent lot.