Boxing In Philadelphia: Winner Of Charity Auction Meets IBF Champ Cunningham, Prospect Davis

© Gianluca (Rio) Di Caro

An autographed pink t-shirt signed by many of the great boxers featured and in attendance at the Shamrocks and Dreams event in Philadelphia on October 4, 2008 was recently auctioned on Ebay and the proceeds donated to the American Cancer Society in the name of Patrilla Davis, the late wife of popular Philadelphia middleweight Jamaal ‘Da Truth’ Davis.

This week, the successful bidder, John DiSanto, met with Jamaal and IBF Cruiserweight Champion, Steve ‘USS’ Cunningham, at the James Shuler Memorial Gym in West Philadelphia to collect his prize.

John DiSanto is well known to boxers and boxing fans in Philadelphia as not only does he run philaboxinghistory.com but is also the main man behind the ‘Briscoe’ Awards, of which Steve ‘USS’ Cunningham was the recent recipient of ‘Fighter of the Year 2007’ award, as well as the Gravestone Fund, a particularly interesting project that locates unmarked graves of former Philadelphia boxers.

The mission of this project is to remember and honor these boxing legends by placing headstones on these unmarked graves and then holding a public memorial service.

On his meeting with Jamaal and Steve, John said, “The American Cancer Society is a great cause and something to support anyway, but when I heard about Jamaal’s story I was particularly touched by it. I love Philadelphia boxing, I support it in any way I can. So it was a great opportunity to get involved in a special way. I’ve met Jamaal a few times, he’s a great guy, and Steve is of course the best. So it’s really fun to come here today to meet them and to be involved is really nice.”

The pink cancer support shirt, which was signed by Hall of Famer Jeff Chandler, Former Heavyweight Champ Tim Witherspoon and his son Tim Witherspoon Jr., IBF Cruiserweight Champion Steve Cunningham, Former World Junior Middleweight Champion Kassim ‘The Dream’ Ouma, Current NABA Light Heavyweight Champ Yusaf Mack, Irish Boxing Stars Paul Hyland, Simon ‘Slick Fighting Irish’ O’Donnell and Patrick Hyland, was worn into the ring in October by Jamaal ‘Da Truth’ Davis, when he fought and beat Chris Hall, to honor his wife and highlight the importance of cancer awareness. Jamaal and his trainer Sharron Baker also autographed the shirt.

Steve ‘USS’ Cunningham, the current IBF Cruiserweight Champion, who is preparing for his December 11 title defense against Tomasz ‘Goral’ Adamek at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, also supported this cause and his gym mate, Jamaal, by donating for the auction a pair of signed boxing gloves as well as the opportunity for the highest bidder to meet with him and watch one of his training sessions.

When the presentation was over the ever smiling Jamaal said. “It’s a privilege to have this opportunity to show everybody that, and not just because my wife is dead, you know, that I support cancer research. I believe that everyone should support cancer research, and every woman should go for regular tests and get checked for breast cancer, not just go once in a blue moon, It’s important, it’s their life.

“I was so pleased that John DiSanto won it, he does so much for Philly and us boxers. To meet with John today is a privilege. It’s a privilege to be involved in this. It’s great to see people outside of what we do getting involved, I believe the more people we get involved supporting this cause it’s only a matter of time before we find a cure.

“I have to say a big thank you, not only to John but also to Rob and Diane of Diamond Boxing who not only supported me with this, but organized the
auction and gave so much money to the American Cancer Society in Patrilla’s name. You know, Rob and Diane have spoken about extending this program by sponsoring me in a similar way [donations to American Cancer Society in Patrilla’s name] at further events in the future.

“These people are special, You know, Rob, Diane, Steve and Livvy Cunningham have been awesome. Steve and Livvy were there for me throughout the dark times and still are. It’s special, these guys are special and I can’t thank them enough.”

Steve ‘USS’ Cunningham vs Tomasz ‘Goral’ Adamek.

The IBF Cruiserweight Championship title fight between Champion Steve ‘USS’ Cunningham and challenger Tomasz ‘Goral’ Adamek is co-promoted by Kathy Duva’s Main Events and Don King Productions and takes place at The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey on Thursday, December 11, 2008.

Tickets priced at $303, $153, $78, $53, $38 are on sale now and can be purchased at The Prudential Center box office or by calling TicketMaster on 201-507-8900