Fight For Charity Event Program Fight For Charity 2019 | Page 8

FIGHT FOR
CHARITY
FIGHTER TRAINING
BY SABRINA CARNEVALE
Twenty-six committed Manitobans
T
from all walks of life endured a rigorous
12-week boxing training program
with common goals in mind – build
sportsmanship, achieve personal fitness
goals and fundraise for a great cause.
These fighters are participating in
the 2019 Fight for Charity, an event
that raises money for Big Brothers Big
Sisters of Winnipeg by signing up first-
time fighters and putting them through
an extreme three-month training period.
The training took place at Pan Am
Boxing Club, located in Winnipeg’s
Exchange District, and was spearheaded
by a team of elite coaches and trainers.
The training was structured to build
fitness and boxing ability – workouts
were intense, focusing on footwork,
conditioning and sparring. Pan Am
coaches prepared participants to step
into the ring and endure a three-round
amateur bout in front of official judges
and a massive crowd.
Make no mistake: becoming a boxer
in three months takes some serious
motivation. The charity fighters have
transitioned from little to no knowledge
of boxing to actively switching
between offence and defence in the
heat of an exchange. The physical
fitness preparation was gruelling, with
participants attending several boxing,
spin and sparring classes each week.
Joe Kelly is one of those participants
– he knew from the get-go that Fight
for Charity was a challenge he wanted
to take on. Kelly is co-owner of
TumbleClean, an on-demand laundry
and dry cleaning service in Winnipeg.
For him, the event was about more than
trying something new.
“The fact that it’s for charity
definitely encouraged me to reach out
and get involved,” he says. “Getting into
a boxing ring is something I’ve thought
about, so it was a good opportunity to
take on that challenge and see how I’d
fare in a fight.”
Training was broken into four
phases. The first phase introduced
charity fighters to the basics of
boxing – stance, movement, jab, right,
one-two combination – as well as
conditioning required for the sport. As
they progressed, advanced techniques
were introduced, including hook,
uppercut, combinations, footwork and
basic defence. The fighters participated
in regularly scheduled classes at the
boxing club.
In phase two, the participants began
group sparring sessions as well as
basic ring tactics and strategy. During
these weeks, the fighters continued
8 | 2019 Annual Fight for Charity | www.fightforcharity.ca