Philly’s James Shuler Memorial Gym the Foundation of Boxing Champions

Philly’s James Shuler Memorial Gym the Foundation of Boxing Champions

BY:  Robert Epstein www.diamondboxing.com        

When you write about James Shuler Memorial Boxing Gym and its boxers your words need to be golden, each word needs to be carefully thought out each word must be crisp and precise. Most of all your thoughts need to have passion and desire, you need to be dedicated to your story and be able demonstrate commitment.  Since these are the keys to the James Shuler Memorial Boxing Gym from the crispness of their hits, to their passion, dedication and desire to be successful, the boxers, trainers and coaches at Shuler's expect only the best of themselves. Commitment runs rampant within the gym walls from the up and coming amateurs to the experienced professionals they all share the same goals. When it comes to boxing history especially the rich Philly Boxing History no one at Shuler's comes up short either. They can tell you about the greats from Jolting Jeff Chandler to Bernard Hopkins, from Bob Montgomery to Tim Witherspoon.

Each boxer training on the day we visited wasted no time to show us the love they have for their sport and for each other within the gym. And it was for the love he had for the late James Shuler that Percy "Buster" Custus opened the James Shuler Memorial Gym in 1994.Cutus a trainer had met Shuler while he was working out at Joe Frazier’s Gym the two established a special relationship. They were friends for over 14 years, until Shuler's life was cut short when he passed away from a fatal motorcycle accident in March 1986.

 The city of Brotherly Love holds true to form in Shuler's when we chatted with Gee Culmer, Jamaal Davis, Steve Cunningham, Marianne Marston, Jason Sia, Sharron Baker and Percy Custus himself each one in their own words described the support and encouragement they exude for each other. It was Jamaal Davis who said it best if it wasn't for everyone in my Shuler Gym family I would not have been able to go forward with my career after the passing of my wife Patrilla to cancer last year "There is nothing else I would rather do than be in this gym". Davis spoke about how at 4AM he can call his trainer Sharron Baker and without hesitation she will pickup the phone and listen to him. He told us how Steve Cunningham and his family was there every step of the way to help him deal with the challenging times he was facing and how Nazim Richardson (trainer of Bernard Hopkins) and Percy Custus guide him, “They are my father figures” Davis says. Davis who has dedicated his career to his wife is scheduled to fight on October 4th at the National Guard Armory in Northeast

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