Leroy Brown, Gleaner Writer

Andrew Boland, who operates the Hard Knocks Gym in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, is leading a team of boxers and their coaches to Oracabessa tomorrow to present a 'Boxing for Charity' show at the Oracabessa High School, dubbed 'Gloves on Fire'. There will be a total of eleven exhibition bouts, seven amateur and four professional, and the proceeds of the show will be donated to the Annotto Bay Hospital.

Boland told The Gleaner that the idea for the show came about when he saw the amount of damage that was done to the hospital by Hurricane Sandy. There was a subsequent appeal for funds to repair sections of the hospital, and he was so struck by the enormity of the situation that he suggested to several boxers that they do a show to help raise funds for the hospital. Everyone with whom he spoke agreed.

PROFESSIONALS ON CARD

There will be four professional exhibition fights, and the featured boxers will be WBA Zonal middleweight champion Sakima Mullings, 'Contender' 2012 welterweight champion Donovan 'Police' Campbell, Glenroy 'Bumpy' Beckford, Lloyd Smith, Martin Anderson and Kevin Hylton. Boland highlighted the fact that all these professionals will be donating their services free of cost, and this, he said, was a laudable gesture.

Several top amateur boxers will also put their skills on display, among them, heavyweights Rohan Alexander and Oral Willis, and middleweights Michael Gardener and Jermaine Bowen. Other amateur boxers participating are Orain Simister, Simore Gayle, Kestner Davis, Nickoy Jackson, Rohan Alexander, Andre McKenzie, Julian Johnson, Andrew Rowe and Andre McKenzie.

There will not be an entry fee, but all those who attend the event are being asked to make a donation at the gate of at least $500 to the hospital fund, said Boland. He said that the feedback to the event being staged was very good and there was a lot of excitement in the area.

"I hope that it will be a very successful night and that we will be able to make a sizeable contribution to the hospital," Boland said.