An open-air boxing ring will once again rise inside Little Italy's Piazza della Famiglia on Sept. 11, as the annual Punches in the Piazza charity fight night returns for its fourth year — this time landing on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks and the fourth anniversary of the death of the event's namesake, hall of fame boxing promoter Robert “Bobby” DePhilippis.
The event was created by Bobby DePhilippis' daughter, Michelle DePhilippis, who had no prior experience in event promotion before launching it, according to the Times of San Diego. Robert DePhilippis died in 2022 at age 72, and this year's fight night will double as both a tribute to him and a fundraiser for two causes, Michelle DePhilippis said.
A Fighter's Legacy in the Piazza
Robert DePhilippis built a reputation over decades as a hall of fame boxing promoter, organizing more than 60 boxing events at San Diego's El Cortez Convention Center before his 2012 induction into the California Boxing Hall of Fame, per the Times of San Diego. His family's restaurant business, Filippi's Pizza Grotto, has served as a longtime sponsor of the Bobby D. Foundation's community programs, which focus on resources for underprivileged youth, according to The Daily Aztec.
The competition itself will consist of nine USA Boxing-sanctioned amateur matches featuring Southern California fighters competing in three-round bouts, according to KPBS. This year's card will also feature first responders boxing alongside amateur fighters, along with special tributes to those who served and survived the September 11 attacks, when the World Trade Center in New York City fell.
Splitting Proceeds Between Two Causes
Half of this year's proceeds will go to the Washington Elementary School Foundation, continuing a partnership that has sent money to the Little Italy-based nonprofit for the last three years. Washington Elementary, established in 1914 on State Street, is one of the oldest operating public school campuses in San Diego, serving downtown families between Fir and Date streets, according to Washington Elementary STEAM Magnet. About 80% of the school's students live below the poverty line, per the seed reporting.
The other half of the proceeds will go to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a national charity that builds specially adapted smart homes for severely injured veterans and first responders, and offers full undergraduate and accredited trade-school scholarships to children in their immediate families. The organization has helped provide mortgage-free homes to families of fallen first responders and fallen U.S. military members with young children since 9/11. Michelle DePhilippis said she thought honoring first responders and families making sacrifices was a great opportunity.
The foundation was established in December 2001 to honor FDNY firefighter Stephen Siller, who died on September 11, 2001, after running through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel carrying 60 pounds of gear toward the burning towers. Independent evaluations by Charity Watch found the foundation allocated 93% of its total expenditures directly to program services while collecting $292 million in contributions in fiscal year 2022, underscoring the group's low overhead relative to its total revenue.
An Unlikely Ring Beside a Rebuilt Food Hall
Punches in the Piazza launched in September 2023 as the first live sports event ever hosted at the 10,000-square-foot Piazza della Famiglia, according to the Little Italy Association, with its inaugural card featuring 12 amateur bouts presented by Filippi's Pizza Grotto. By its second year, the event had raised $40,000 for the Washington Elementary School Foundation. Organizers of this year's event are aiming to raise $50,000, with ticket prices ranging from $50 for general admission up to $320 for VIP seating, and the night will also include a raffle and a silent auction.
The piazza itself was dedicated by city officials and community leaders in March 2018, after a one-block portion of West Date Street was permanently closed to vehicle traffic to create the European-style plaza developed by H.G. Fenton Company. This year's fight night takes place beside the 4,700-square-foot Global Fork Food Hall, which opened in June 2026 to replace the original Little Italy Food Hall following a 16-month vacancy after that space closed unexpectedly in February 2025.
