Philadelphia native and former two-time IBF cruiserweight champion Steve "USS" Cunningham has signed with top boxing advisor Al Haymon, the fighter announced Tuesday.
The signing comes less than a week after Cunningham and promoter Main Events parted ways. As a Haymon client, Cunningham will now compete in the Premier Boxing Champions series, which airs on several major television networks — including NBC and CBS. Future bouts are expected to air on ABC and ESPN later this year.
It is not yet known when Cunningham will make his PBC debut.
“I'm looking forward to working with Al, he's a genius at what he does. I've been watching him for several years and seeing all that he accomplishes for his fighters but have always been on the outside looking in due to contractual obligations,” the 38-year-old Cunningham said. “It finally lined up to where we can work together and it's going to great. I believe my best fights have yet to be seen.”
Cunningham, who is currently a heavyweight contender, has a professional record of 28-7-0 with 13 knockouts.
After compiling a three-fight win streak, Cunningham came out on the short end of a disputed decision in his most recent outing — an IBF heavyweight eliminator to Vyacheslav Glazkov on March 14 in Montreal. While the official judges saw the bout in favor of Glazkov, many ringside observers had Cunningham winning the contest.
Cunningham and his wife/manager, Livvy, will be honored Friday night in New York at the 90th annual Boxing Writers Association of America awards dinner. The couple will receive the Bill Crawford Courage Award for the perseverance they exhibited when their 9-year-old daughter Kennedy underwent heart transplant surgery in December.