Toledo’s Day In The Sun Schedule Announced

The events planned to commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the historic Jess Willard vs. Jack Dempsey fight that took place on July 4, 1919 – “Toledo’s Day In The Sun” – include activities from 1 to 7 p.m., Thursday, July 4 at Detwiler Park, 4001 North Summit St.

The event will include a children’s area with a bounce castle and slide, a giant connect four game, a giant Jenga, and an obstacle course. Face painting will be from 1 to 5 p.m. only. There will be free boxing classes for young Toledoans, food trucks, a DJ, commemorative item sales, a beer garden, and informational displays from all local boxing gyms during the entire event.

The scheduled events include:

1:30-2 p.m. - Soul City Boxing cardio foot drills class.
2:30-3 p.m. - Glass City & TBT Boxing motivation and staying active.
3:30-4 p.m. - CARTEL boxing class.
4-5:30 p.m. - Junior Golden Gloves Amateur Youth Boxing.
6 p.m. – Main Event. A live reenactment of a portion of the Willard-Dempsey fight of 1919. Local actors will perform the fight as trained by professional fight trainer Charles Coyl of Chicago. Fred Lefebvre of WSPD-AM 1370 will be the announcer. Attendees in period costume will be in replica wooden stands built by Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters Local 351.

Toledo’s Day in the Sun activities are sponsored by Huntington Bank, Columbia Gas, Crestline Paving and Excavating, Mariucci & Associates, Associated General Contractors of Northwest Ohio, Carpenters Local 351, The Blade, and BCSN/BCAN.

“A century after Toledo’s most famed sporting event, which placed our city at the center of the sports world in 1919 — when Jack Dempsey defeated Jess Willard in a 97,000-seat wooden stadium built at Bay View Park specifically for the heavyweight boxing championship bout — we are bringing the fight of the century back to life on July 4th,” Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said. “This is a first-of-its-kind production, with a replica of the stadium and a free-admission reenactment of the bout on July 4.”

The events planned for the anniversary also include Toledo’s Day In The Sun Professional Boxing Night, at 7 p.m., July 6, at the Seagate Convention Center Six cards, local boxers, historical displays, and more. Confirmed boxers include Robert Mumford, Jr., Antwan Jones, Elias Moreno, and Terrance Jarmon. Tickets start at $25 and are available at ticketmaster.com: https://www1.ticketmaster.com/pro-boxing-toledos-day-in-the-sun/event/080056CBE6B6577B.

The city of Toledo supports the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). If you need a reasonable accommodation because of a disability to fully participate in any city program or event, please contact Joan Easler, city of Toledo ADA Administrator, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, at 419-245-1059.