This New Years Day instead of taking a well deserved break from training, former IBF Cruiserweight Champion of the World, Steve ‘USS’ Cunningham will instead be lacing up his running shoes to take part in the AngerWear sponsored Stanley’s Dream 5K run in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Steve, who is passionate in his belief of helping others less fortunate than himself, jumped at the opportunity to help raise funds for Stanley’s Dream, a fund for the Chester County Foundation, which provides college scholarships to graduating seniors and supports childhood brain cancer research grants to hospitals..
Speaking at his home just after Christmas Steve said. “Man, what can I say, Stanley (Edwards) battled to keep his dream alive in heroic fashion. Now his parents, Stanley Snr. and Donna, dedicate themselves to helping others achieve their dreams in the name of Stanley. These people are heroes and I am proud to support them and take part in the Stanley’s Dream 5K run.
I know first hand what it’s like to have a child fighting a medical battle, my daughter Kennedy has a serious heart condition and has had her share of battles in her life, I have so much respect for the Edwards as they fight to keep Stanley’s dream alive.
I’m hoping that a lot of people will get to West Chester on Friday to cheer us all on and help us to raise a significant amount of money for the Stanley’s Dream fund.
The race starts at noon at the corner of Church and Market in West Chester, please come along and support the runners.”
Steve will not be the only world class boxer at the Stanley’s DREAM run as fellow James Shuler Memorial Gym mate Heavyweight contender ‘Fast’ Eddie Chambers will also be on hand to sign autographs.
About Stanley’s DREAM:
Stanley Edwards had a dream: his dream was to attend college. Unlike many 12-year olds, achieving his dream was complicated by the battle he was fighting against brain cancer.
A gifted student and promising athlete, Stanley was diagnosed with a brain tumor at age 12. Due to the location of the tumor, surgery to remove it resulted in the onset of learning disabilities as well as paralysis of his right arm and leg, making school more difficult and forever preventing him from participating in the many sports he loved.
Despite these unthinkable obstacles, Stanley persevered toward his dream.
Unexpectedly, in 2001 the Edwards family learned that Stanley’s tumor had returned. Stanley passed away in January of 2002 at the age of 14. In a tribute to this courageous young man, his family created Stanley’s DREAM to continue his legacy.
Stanley’s DREAM provides college scholarships to graduating seniors and supports childhood brain cancer research by awarding research grants to hospitals.
Undefeated middleweight Michael Oliveira On 2010 Top Prospect Watch
MIAMI (Dec. 29, 2009) – Undefeated Brazilian middleweight “Chairman of the Board” Michael Oliveira (11-0, 9 KOs), 8-0 (6 KOs) in 2009, established himself as one of the top prospects to watch in 2010.
The 19-year-old Oliveira, living in Miami and attending Miami Dade Community College, went into 2009 with three first-round knockout wins in his first three pro fights. The hard-punching teenager fought all over this past year, starting with another first-round knockout of Michael Bradley in Indianapolis, followed by a win by 4-round decision versus Vladmir Laguna in Miami, and then a second-round technical knockout of Guy Packer in Grand Rapids (MI).
Back in Indianapolis, Oliveira knocked out Joe Howard in the opening round and then Michael stepped-up in class to win the vacant UNBC Latin middleweight title on 9/11, taking an 8-round decision against Robert Kliewer (10-8-2) in Pompano Beach (FL).
In perhaps his most significant win to date on November 7, fighting on the Chad Dawson-Glen Johnson HBO card in Hartford (CT), Oliveira pounded Francisco Ruben Osorio (12-6) until he was unable to answer the bell for the eighth round.
Oliveira registered another first-round TKO win December 7 against Gustavo De La Cruz and only 11 days later in Haiti, Michael closed his perfect 2009 campaign by stopping Eduardo Mercedes (5-2) in the second round.
Oliveira feels that the area of most improvement was in his maturation process. “I matured a lot this year,” Michael explained, “training wise and making weight. I keep learning in every fight and every sparring session. There’s always something new to learn. I think my best fight was September 11th (vs. Kliewer). I was in great shape and fought my best fight.”
Michael’s father/promoter, Carlos, agreed with his son. “In terms of experience,” he said, “Michael grew a lot and developed better skills. His fights, training and sparring in 2009 made him wiser and more mature.”
In and out of the ring, Oliveira is refreshing, engaging and rapidly growing on fans in his native Brazil as well as the United States and elsewhere. At his last fight in Haiti, Michael took the opportunity to meet Brazilian peace keeping troops there and present Christmas presents to children at an orphanage, resulting in him becoming a hometown favorite in a foreign country.
“There were a lot of people there cheering for me,” he noted. “Even the Haitian people liked me. I learned how the Brazilians operate there with the United Nations. They got to know me a little and I got to know them.”
“It was unbelievable,” Carlos added. “We all had a tremendous experience in Haiti, one of the poorest countries in the world.”
Because Oliveira is being positioned as the heir apparent to Brazil’s retired great boxer Acelino “Popo” Freitas, his tentative 2010 schedule includes a return home to fight in his birthplace, Sao Paulo (Brazil).
“I hope that I’m just as busy in 2010 as I was this year with eight fights,” Michael concluded. “My goal is to win, at the very least, a Youth title. But I’m really looking forward to fighting in Brazil. All of my people will be there supporting me but, once the fight starts, it will be like fighting anywhere – Miami, Connecticut, etc. Before and after the fight it’ll be very exciting, but I’ll be 100-percent focused in the fight.”
“We’d like to have Michael fight in Brazil,” Carlos remarked. “The Governor of the State of Sao Paulo declared that, in 2010, Sao Paulo will be the capital of sports in the world. They’re planning a lot of major sporting events, including the first Indy 500-type race March 14 and, hopefully, Michael fighting there April 24.”
Go to www.MichaelOliveria.com for more information. Oliveira’s valued sponsors include The Confianca Moving, The Beira – Mar and Pro 1 from Sao Paulo, Dumonde Travel (Michael’s official travel agency) and the multi-national fuel company, Shell.
Universum comments on Sergiy Dzinziruk statement: “The court has confirmed our position.“
Universum Box-Promotion would like to make a clear statement about comments recently made by WBO super welterweight world champion Sergiy Dzinziruk and put the record straight.
Dietmar Poszwa, member of the Universum management: “There has been a court case between Universum and Sergiy Dzinziruk in which the validity of his contract has been examined. The court ruled in Universum’s favour. There have been reports that Sergiy is a free agent but that is not true. According to the court ruling made by the district court in Hamburg on November 13 2009, he is still bound by contract exclusively with Universum. Additionally, Universum is, contrary to allegations made by Dzinziruk, not responsible that intended fights against Paul Williams and James Kirkland couldn’t be realized. Those fights failed due to a lack of interest from the U.S. TV and the high purse demand of Dzinziruk.
“We would like to point out that as a result of the court ruling Sergiy Dzinziruk has indicated his wish towards Universum to be released from the contract by buying himself out once he receives an offer from another promotor. We have agreed to this. If Sergiy Dzinziruk has paid this money he will be free but at the moment there is no such offer.”