Eastern Parkway Arena was a sports venue located in

Brownsville, Brooklyn Brownsville is a residential neighborhood in eastern Brooklyn in New York City. The neighborhood is generally bordered by Crown Heights to the northwest; Bedford–Stuyvesant and Cypress Hills to the north; East New York to the east; Canarsie ...

. First operated as an indoor

roller rink A roller rink is a hard surface usually consisting of hardwood or concrete, used for roller skating or inline skating. This includes roller hockey, speed skating, roller derby, and individual recreational skating. Roller rinks can be located ...

, in 1944 it was bought by dress manufacturer Emil Lence and his father John Lence, who converted it to a boxing club in 1947. Under the supervision of matchmaker Teddy Brenner, the arena became known as the "House of Upsets" for its competitive matches. Brenner used the arena to feature young fighters such as

Bobo Olson Carl Olson (July 11, 1928 – January 16, 2002) was an American boxer. He was the World Middleweight champion between October 1953 and December 1955, the longest reign of any champion in that division during the 1950s. His nickname, Bobo, was ba ...

, Gene Fullmer,

Walter Cartier Walter Cartier (March 29, 1922 – August 17, 1995) was an American professional boxer and actor, born and raised in the Bronx in New York City, New York. He was of Irish ancestry, and his grandfather had changed the family surname from McCart ...

, and most notably

Floyd Patterson Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in hi ...

, who fought there twelve times between 1952 and 1955, winning them all except a highly controversial 1954 loss by decision to Joey Maxim. The arena was known for hosting '' Boxing from Eastern Parkway'', a weekly broadcast on the

DuMont Television Network The DuMont Television Network (also known as the DuMont Network, DuMont Television, simply DuMont/Du Mont, or (incorrectly) Dumont ) was one of America's pioneer commercial television networks, rivaling NBC and CBS for the distinction of being ...

from 1952 to 1954, followed by another year on ABC until May 1955, when ABC failed to renew its contract with the arena after picking up the rights to show fights at the

International Boxing Club The International Boxing Club of New York was a corporation formed by James D. Norris and Arthur M. Wirtz in 1949 to promote boxing bouts at Madison Square Garden, Polo Grounds, Yankee Stadium, St. Nicholas Arena, Chicago Stadium and Detroit ...

. The arena hosted a few more fights in 1958 and was later torn down.Patrick Rosal
"Boxing’s Return to Brooklyn and Brownsville’s Thirst for Boxing"
'' Grantland'', October 22, 2012.

References

{{NewYork-sports-venue-stub Defunct boxing venues in the United States Boxing venues in New York City Sports venues in Brooklyn