Da Silva International Edmonton, Canada

Da Silva International was founded in 1987 in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada as a sports management company. The company started with one client: 8 Time World Kickboxing Champion Peter Sugarfoot Cunningham, now considered to be the greatest kickboxer of all time. He went on to retire Undefeated with 50 wins and zero losses. The company quickly grew its roster of fighters to 13 World Champion Kickboxers, and earned a weekly kickboxing program on ESPN2. Mr. Cunningham, now an actor who has appeared in over 30 motion pictures including the Academy Award winning The Fighter as well as numerous television programs, is still a client for Da Silva International 29 years later. Cunningham left his then manager, the legendary Muhammed Ali, to join the then young aspiring sports agent Rui Antonio Da Silva. Along with negotiating fight deals that made him the highest-paid kickboxer in the world, Mr. Da Silva went on to negotiate film and television deals for Mr. Cunningham, including a 6-episode television series with HBO, a 3-picture deal with legendary directors Ridley and Tony Scott, a development deal with Disney, co-starring and guest starring roles in films such as Eye Spy with Eddie Murpy and Owen Wilson, Human Stain with Nicole Kidman and Anthony Hopkins, and guest starring appearances in television series such as C.S.I. and Kung Fu, among many others.