Out-of-the-BOX for charity!

Indeed, putting up a good fight may sometimes leave you in good stead! Before you draw conclusions, let us tell you — In a bid to raise money for children’s heart surgeries, some Bengalureans are ready to take to the boxing ring!

Fitness Fight Club is organising a fight night called White Collar Bout 2016 on November 12, which will have the proceeds of the event going to fund heart surgeries for underprivileged children. We talk to the team behind the initiative and excited city folk, who tell us more...

“I’ve been boxing since a very early age, so when I came to Bengaluru, it was one of the things I was looking for but I didn’t find a good place where I could train. I decided to take it upon myself to use my years of military training, competitive boxing and mixed martial arts and bring it to the Indian setup. My cousin Jeremie and I always wanted to start something on our own but unfortunately he passed away at a young age. It caused me to stay away for a while from fighting after that, but I’ve continued over the years to fight for different causes around the world. It’s one of my primary goals to this day, I kept training and staying fit through my contact sports routines when I started FFC in April 2012,”  shares Austin Prakesh, the brainchild behind the initiative.

While they’ve held bouts to encourage the sport, there was always a bigger perspective, he adds, “The same year we had our first White Collar Bout event in 2012 and repeated it in 2013 in the city. In the second edition,  we worked hard to raise '5 lakh that went to the Needy Heart Foundation who directed those funds towards 33 heart surgeries for children.”

It sure looks like the city is prepped to give it their all. Dr Praveen Ganesh, a cranio facial surgeon at Mazumdar Shaw Medical Centre, and a trained Muay Thai fighter says, “To me, this isn’t a feat. Personally, it’s a platform for amateur fighters like me, and I don’t mind losing or winning.  It’s an honour and a  privilege to be fighting for cause.”  

Enthusing how it’s the intend which matters most, Rohit Prasad Sharma, a 34-year-old management consultant says, “ We’re finally opening up to off beat ideas of charity. Bengaluru is cosmopolitan, and to me, it’s activities like these where you get an opportunity to show solidarity that matters.”