IBF Boxing Champ Steve Cunningham Gets Guest Panelist Slot For Film Festival

ByBoxing Press


© Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro

IBF Cruiserweight Champion, Steve ‘USS’ Cunningham, will be taking a little time out from training for his upcoming title defense against Tomasz Adamek on December 11 at the Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, to be one of the guest panelists at the U.S. Sports Film Festival which is being hosted by the city of Philadelphia on October 23-26, 2008.

Cunningham jumped at the opportunity to be part of this special event, especially as the film he will be discussing is a documentary about fellow boxer and former world champion, Kassim ‘The Dream’ Ouma, saying “It’s always an honor to be asked to do anything, but I feel specially honored to be asked to be one of the panelists that will be discussing the movie
about the life of Kassim ‘The Dream’ Ouma at the U.S. Sports Film Festival.

“Kassim is an amazing dude. You just have to look where he came from and what he came through as a child and yet he remains so normal, not mentally disturbed or anything. I think if I had to go through what he had It would affect me badly. I can’t even begin to imagine what it was like to be taken from your home and family and be forced to be a child soldier. That would have disturbed me real bad. It’s an amazing thing to see the worse things that could happen to a guy and yet he can still turnout so well adjusted. It’s just beautiful. For me, it puts my life in perspective.

“It’s a true honor for me to part of this film festival and to be part of a panel for a documentary of such importance. People have to be made aware of what has happened and is still going on over in parts of Africa. But at the same time it’s great that we can celebrate that one of these poor souls has had the chance to start a new life and has taken that chance and
become a successful sportsman, more than that, he became a world champion.”

The inaugural U.S. Sports Film Festival will be the most comprehensive sports film festival in United States history. The USSFF will be held in various locations throughout the city of Philadelphia from October 23-26, and will feature a combination of classic sports films, in-depth documentaries and never before seen releases.

25 films are scheduled for screening, ranging from the traditional sports to Mixed Martial Art and Extreme Endurance Racing.

The film Steve and his fellow panelists will be discussing is “Kassim The Dream”, the story of World Champion Boxer Kassim “The Dream” Ouma – born in Uganda, kidnapped by the rebel army and trained to be a child soldier at the age of 6. When the rebels took over the government, Kassim became an army soldier who was forced to commit many horrific atrocities, making him both a victim and perpetrator.

He soon discovered the army’s boxing team and realized the sport was his ticket to freedom. After 12 years of warfare, Kassim defected from Africa and arrived in the United States.
homeless and culture shocked, but he quickly rose through the boxing ranks and became Junior Middleweight Champion of the World.

“Kassim The Dream” will be screened at the Prince Music Theater at 1412 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA at 9pm on Saturday 25th October 2008. To obtain tickets for Kassim the Dream and all other films featured at the U.S. Sports Film Festival go to www.ussportsfilmfestival.com or call 646-233-2033

The International Boxing Federation World Cruiserweight Championship Title Fight between Champion, Steve ‘USS’ Cunningham and challenger, Tomasz ‘Polish Warrior’ Adamek is co-promoted by Main Events and Don King Productions, will take place at The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Thursday December 11th 2008.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at The Prudential Center box office or by calling TicketMaster on 201-507-8900.