7 Jul 2016 Community

Boxers punch above their weight to raise funds for Kirkwood

Thirty-three amateur boxers raised the roof at the Apna Centre in Huddersfield back in June – putting their bodies on the line to raise over £9,000 for Kirkwood Hospice.

A group of complete boxing novices climbed through the ropes on Saturday 11 June to juke it out at the first ever Boxing 4 Kirkwood white-collar boxing event.  

A huge crowd of over 500 packed into the Huddersfield Apna Centre in Prospect Street to watch the fearless first-timers battle it out to be crowned king of the ring.

When the final bell rang and the money was counted, the inaugural event proved a real knockout, raising an incredible £9,029 for Kirkwood Hospice.

The white-collar event was the brainchild of Sean Reynolds who runs Left Jab Promotions.

Along with his team of experienced coaches, Sean put the group of novices, most of whom had never even pulled on a pair of boxing gloves in their lives, through 10 weeks of free training.

Despite their lack of experience, the fighters stepped up to put on a dazzling show. The fights were end -to-end throughout with lots of close fought bouts and even the odd draw.

As well as putting on a great show, each boxer raised money by selling tickets, raising sponsorship and acquiring corporate sponsors.

And some of the more creative boxers were sponsored to get ‘Boxing 4 Kirkwood’ tattoos. One participant even dyed his hair and beard pink before his fight to bring in extra funds!

A hugely successful auction and raffle on the night brought in even more for Kirkwood.

After an evening of highly entertaining, competitive boxing, the biggest winners were the people being cared for by Kirkwood.

Left Jab Promotions founder and event organiser, Sean Reynolds, said:

“Boxing for Kirkwood went better than I could have ever imagined. Every fighter who took part felt that they could give something back to Kirkwood. They were all doing it for the right reasons and they were all brilliant.

“Their friends and family really appreciate the lengths they were going to too. Boxing is not an easy sport! Some of these people work 9 – 5 jobs and have never had a fight in their lives. To get in the ring and do what they did was really special.”

Kirkwood Hospice fundraiser Liam Halligan, who was at the show, said: “Everyone at the Hospice would like to thank the boxers, coaches, Left Jab Promotions and particularly Sean Reynolds for putting on such an amazing event.

“It was wonderful to see how committed all the participants were. To raise over £9,000 between them is truly astounding.

“The Hospice relies on donations from the public and without people like Sean and his boxers we wouldn’t be able to provide the level of care that our patients deserve.”

After the success of its inaugural fundraising event, Sean and his Left Jab Promotions team have announced ‘Boxing 4 Kirkwood Round 2’, which will take place on Saturday, 3 September. If you are interested in taking part or would like to enquire about tickets, you can contact Sean Reynolds on 07889 843642, email info@leftjabpromotions.co.uk  or visit www.leftjabpromotions.co.uk