Bridgeton hospital clears Phila. sports anchor for celebrity fight with former baseball star

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Bridgeton hospital clears Phila. sports anchor for celebrity fight with former baseball star

Published: Friday, July 04, 2008

From Press staff reports

BRIDGETON - Philadelphia sports anchor Vai Sikahema came to a Bridgeton hospital Thursday morning to get medical clearance for his celebrity boxing match against former baseball player Jose Canseco next week in Atlantic City.

Sikahema, 45, who played professional football for the Philadelphia Eagles before his retirement in 1994, faces off against Canseco in a July 12 fight at the Bernie Robbins Stadium on North Albany Avenue.

According to a release, Sikahema will donate the $5,000 he will earn from the fight, dubbed "The War at the Shore," to the family fund of slain Philadelphia police Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski.

Sikahema visited South Jersey Healthcare Bridgeton Health Center because the hospital chain's occupational health department is contracted by the state to provide medical clearance for athletes who either box or participate in mixed martial arts events in New Jersey.

Greg Potter, a spokesman for South Jersey Healthcare, said Thursday that an average of 40 athletes come to the small Irving Avenue hospital every month to receive a general physical and undergo other diagnostic tests.

Sikahema, who works for Philadelphia NBC affiliate WCAU, is ranked first among the National Football League's all-time career leaders in number of punt returns and second in punt return yardage.

Canseco, 44, is best known for his seven-year run with the Oakland Athletics of Oakland, Calif., from 1985-92. He was named the American League's Rookie of the Year in 1986 and Most Valuable Player in 1988. Canseco spent 17 seasons in the major leagues before ending his baseball career in 2002.