Jesselyn Silva was the embodiment of the never-give-up spirit that she learned as one of the many lessons during her boxing training. While she triumphed over every punch that her opponents threw in the boxing ring, the tussle with her brain cancer proved to be too steep. Her demise, because of DIPG (Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma), an aggressive type of brain cancer, has left Claressa Shields devastated. Silva looked up to the two-division undisputed champion and wanted to replicate her success by following in her footsteps, but cancer cut short her life at just 18 years old.
Jesselyn Silva was 7 when she first entered a boxing gym and never looked back. She impressed everyone, not only with her boxing skills but also with her joyous nature. Destined to be an Olympic boxer, she racked up two national championships and also became a junior Olympic medalist. She had a promising amateur career as she climbed to the #1 spot in the US for 95 lbs. She had also attained the #1 rank in the country at 90 lbs before she decided to move up. However, Silva’s DIPG diagnosis at 15 made it difficult for her to train with the same intensity as she did before.
Sliva was undergoing radiation therapy, and the Christian Rivera Foundation had been helping her since July 2021, when she first detected the DIPG. The New York native’s meteoric rise in amateur boxing had ensured she met and fostered bonds with professional boxers. One such special bond that Silva made was with ‘GWOAT’, who turned to her X handle and shared an emotional message.
Shields, 29, wrote in her post, “🥺💔 Pray for Jesslyn & her family. I pray God wraps his hands around them so tight. I’m torn ☹️.” Shields and Silva had trained and spent some time together, where she gave some tips and boxing knowledge to the rising boxing star. In addition, the 15-0 record holder had posted a string of Instagram stories where she also penned, “My heart is so broken. Rip Jesslyn!!!” In another story, Shields wrote, “This hurts so bad!!! Sweetest baby girl I’ve ever met.”
