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Harry Davis Jr. is a lifelong friend of Sankara Frazier and the son of storied Golden Gloves champion Harry Davis Sr. At a young age Harry Davis learned from, and helped his father's illustrious career. Though Davis Jr. made a name for himself in football over boxing, he never lost sight of the art of boxing. Today, Harry Davis Jr spearheads the fundraising for Circle of Discipline. Together with Sankara, the two friends continue to bring the art and discipline of boxing to their community.
Sankara Frazier is the founder and CEO of the Circle of Discipline. Born and raised in South Minneapolis, Frazier began his early boxing career in his youth boxing at the Pillsbury House and the Phyllis Wheatley Center. In an effort to serve his own community, Sankara began volunteering as an amateur boxing coach throughout metro area gyms. He would later found the Circle of Discipline with the goal of helping members not only become physically healthy, but also help them turn challenges into strengths by achieving a sense of mental, spiritual and social well-being. Sankara’s commitment to the art of boxing and the community speaks for itself. He is the first coach to have two professional boxers win Championship Belts on the same night in August 2020 during the COVID pandemic. He has trained 18 professional boxers including: the former WBA Welterweight Champion, Jamal “Shango” James and the former WBA Super Middleweight Champion, David Morrell. Sankara also coached the USA Boxing Team in Azerbaijan.
Gerald Gems, Ph.D. is a retired professor from North Central College in Naperville, IL. During his tenure at North Central, he also served as former chairperson of the Health and Physical Education Department. Gems is also the former president of the North American Society for Sports History and vice president of the International Society for the History of Physical Education and Sport. He has taught at universities around the world including the University of Copenhagen and the University of Malmo, Sweden through a Fulbright Scholar Award and has been a visiting professor at the National Sports University in Beijing. He is the author and editor of 32 books on the history and sociology of sport including, Boxing: A Concise History of the Sweet Science, Sports in American History: From Colonization to Globalization, and Sports History: The Basics.
Lisa Bauch is a Minneapolis athlete, entrepreneur and activist. Bauch first walked into a boxing gym in 1993 and discovered her life’s passion. In 1996, Bauch founded Uppercut Gym, the first boxing gym in the United States to be solely owned and operated by a woman. Currently she serves as the president and director of operations for the Upper Midwest Golden Gloves and is the Secretary of USA Boxing LBC Minnesota 30. Bauch has trained professional boxers as well as amateur fighters and has worked the corner of the Madison Square Gardens arena. She has helped thousands of athletes foster a passion for boxing and has become an advocate for women in the sport. In 2017 she became the first woman inducted into the Minnesota Boxing Hall of Fame.
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