The "Beyond the Bell" boxing programme aims to channel young peoples' energies and find them new opportunities
It always sounds strange to people who don't know boxing. The way to get people away from trouble is to usher them into a sport whose central aim is to punch someone in the head. But boxing has proven all around the world that it can play an important role in healing fractured lives and communities. Boxing is transformative in a way that other sports rarely match.
Introduce an angry, lost soul to boxing and, in countless cases, you turn him into a fit, disciplined and purposeful individual that his old classmates would hardly recognise.
So why not football or table tennis then? Well, other sports can have a positive impact, but it's the violence that's inherent to boxing that sets it apart.
Many disadvantaged young people have violent impulses, and these need to be contained and expressed in an environment where rules and respect are paramount.
A surly young street urchin may have contempt for the police and his parents, but he'll soon learn that if he doesn't respect his boxing coach, he's going to get embarrassed in the ring.
He has to learn to be silent and to listen - perhaps for the first time in his life.
And at the risk of stating the obvious, when a young man is in the gym, we know he's not on the streets getting into trouble.
Philadelphia's city authorities recognise the power of boxing and are investing in new programmes and boxing equipment to make it accessible across seven city rec centres.
"The boxing ring is the best place to channel this energy that you may be dealing with, whether it be school, whether it's home, whether you are having a good day. It's about what happens to you when you leave this gym," said Parks and Rec Commissioner Susan Slawson.
George Gee Senior, who has volunteered as a boxing coach at the Marian Anderson Rec Center in South Philadelphia for 13 years, said many kids who participated "didn't become a boxer; they became successful in life."
Life is a fight, and boxing can build the right kind of mentality to deal with it.
I used to box, just at a local club, when I was going through a rough patch in my 20s. I can't overstate the confidence that it gave me. It was also surprisingly relaxing. How can you possibly relax when someone is trying to poke a fist in your face? Well, the experience of trying to land your own punches and avoid getting hit in return, is so intense that there is absolutely no room for other thoughts.
For the duration of the fight, career problems, relationship issues etc, simply melt away. And when the training is over, you are in a better frame of mind to tackle those problems head on.
For every young man who's been injured or killed by the sport of boxing, there must be hundreds if not thousands, whose lives have been improved immeasurably.
And by allowing young people to channel their aggression, something strange often happens. They become calm, sometimes serene. It never ceases to amaze me that an absolute killer in the ring can be the sweetest, kindest person outside of it.
And of course, it's only right that the home of Rocky and Smokin' Joe Frazier should be promoting "the noble art of self defence".
