(USA Boxing)
Salim Ellis-Bey is hoping to carry both Philadelphia boxing and USA Boxing into a new era.
The last fighter to represent Philadelphia in the Olympics was Rock Allen at Athens 2004. That was the same year the US last saw a male win an Olympic gold medal, when future two-division champion and Hall of Famer Andre Ward achieved the feat.
Ellis-Bey, who recently won a silver medal at the 2026 World Boxing Cup in Brazil, hopes to build on that accomplishment at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
“One of my biggest motivations is to end the gold medal drought while representing my country, my city and myself, ” Ellis-Bey said. “That is something that would live forever.”
Ellis-Bey’s father, Dawud Bey Al-Rasul, believes that his son following in Allen’s footsteps would strengthen his family’s connection to Philadelphia’s rich boxing lore. Allen’s father, Brother Nazim Richardson – who trained Philly legends Bernard Hopkins and Steve Cunningham – was of great importance to Al-Rasul and Ellis-Bey. Moreover, Al-Rasul learned how to train fighters from Elvin “Rev” Thompson, with input from Sloan Harrison and Edward Dennis. Ellis-Bey holds Dennis in high esteem because he was teammates with Leroy “Bucky” Davis – a Philly legend who made the USA Boxing team in 1988 but was sadly killed in 1990. The shadow of “Bucky” and his unrealized potential are still felt in the southwest Philadelphia region, where Ellis-Bey is from.
“It is family trees of boxing in this city. We come from the same tree as Bucky,” Al-Rasul said. “He is out of the same mold as Karl Dargan and Stephen Fulton.”
Everywhere the 19-year-old Ellis-Bey looks around his city, he can find the footsteps of greats. There were Olympians Joe Frazier and David Reed winning gold medals. There was Hopkins defying time by becoming boxing’s oldest titleholder. There were titles for Danny Garcia, Julian Williams and Fulton. Lately, Philly has been witness to the rise of Jaron “Boots” Ennis, a former unified welterweight titleholder who will attempt to become a two-division titleholder on June 27 against Xander Zayas.
“All those guys showed love. We just put it in a hat, stirred it up, and put it to use,” Al-Rasul said. “Salim has become a very good fighter because of the knowledge of the people around him.”
Now Ellis-Bey wants to forge his own path, while also respecting the legends who came before him.
“Being able to carry the torch for a…
2026-05-05 07:00:00
