Poignant moment at Briscoe Awards

The third annual Briscoe Awards, named in honor of legendary Philadelphia middleweight Bennie Briscoe, were presented last night at the Veterans Boxers Association hall in Port Richmond.

The Briscoe Awards are the brainchild of John DiSanto, the founder of phillyboxinghistory.com, and the bronze statuettes were created by noted local sculptor Carl LeVotch.

In perhaps the most touching and poignant moment in the history of the Briscoes, three family members of the late Francisco "Paco" Rodriguez flew in from Chicago to accept the 2009 Philly Fight of the Year award on behalf of Rodriguez.

Rodriguez suffered a brain bleed in his Nov. 20, 2009, bout with Teon Kennedy for the vacant USBA championship and was removed from life support 2 days later. Kennedy also was on hand to receive his award and to share the moment with Rodriguez' relatives.

Rogers Mtagwa, the West Philadelphian by way of his native Tanzania, received a Briscoe as Philly's 2009 Fighter of the Year, and Miguel Cartagena, a gold medalist in the 106-pound weight class at the 2009 USA Boxing National Championships, took home the Everett Brothers Award as the city's top amateur for the same time period.

- Bernard Fernandez