F.I.L.E.S. - F.I.L.E.S. Charity Boxing News: W.C.F.N. 7

JULY 19th - AUG. 19th, 2009 ATHLETICS, HEALTH and NUTRITION etc.

On June 25 th Contenders Boxing Studio hosted the seventh installment of their increasingly popular and successful charity boxing events: White Collar Fight Night. The event took place at the Contenders gym located in the Bentall Centre in the heart of downtown Vancouver.

WCFN’s are amateur boxing matches conceived and organized by the co-owners and head instructors Contenders Training Studio: Richard Pelcz and Kevin Reynolds. The fights are between boxers who train at Contenders or with boxers from other gyms. Although each fight is an amateur competition, the emphasis is on safety for the fighters and fun for the audience. No matter who is in the ring the fights are exciting and the atmosphere is playful and fun. Best of all, no matter who emerges as the victor of each match, when there are fights for a children’s charity there are no losers.

For those of you who don’t know what White Collar Fight Night (WCFN) is, it is a charity boxing event put on by Contenders Boxing Studio to support the charity Athletics For Kids (A4K). A4K provides funding for children and youth to partake in sports and athletics who otherwise would not be able to afford to participate in any activity. Since sports and athletics promote health and fitness as well as positive values such as, teamwork, hard work, healthy competition, and the self esteem that comes form reaching ones potential and developing natural abilities, A4K is a most worthy charity for WCFN.

Although every WCFN has been entertaining and successful, WCFN 7 was arguably the best yet. The fight card was a full 7 fights deep, plus one exhibition fight, and included some WCFN veterans and some people who stepped into the ring for the very first time. The fights were action packed and close, including a couple of real slug fests, making the event even better and more entertaining for the fans. Speaking of fans, there was a full house as usual for WCFN 7.

At all the WCFN events the fans are an integral part of the event, being encouraged by both Richard and Kevin to take part in all the action. The crowds are playful, boisterous, and humorously commentate action and cheer on all the fighters. The result of all this is an unmistakable and palatable atmosphere of enjoyment and fun unique to both Contenders and the WCFN events. Moreover, WCFN 7 brought out two of Vancouver’s boxing institutions: Olympic Bronze Medalist Dale Walters, who MC’ed the show, and Olympic Boxer and Boxing promoter Manny Sobral.

Perhaps the biggest highlight of the night, however, was the fact that F.i.l.e.s. own Rob Yun competed in the event. Yun fought Will “Lights Out” Turner in a middle weight showdown. On top of this, local MMA legend Mr. Chris Franco showed up to corner Mr. Yun. The fight was dazzling display of technique and showmanship from Yun and heart and determination for Turner. The fight went the distance, but thanks to brilliant cornering from Mr. Franco and dynamic punching skill, Yun emerged the victor by unanimous decision. As a result Yun was crowned the new WCFN

middleweight champion. Stay with F.i.l.e.s. News for in the future for more details on the victory and Yun’s defence of the title at WCFN 8.

In the end, you could not spend your money hard earned money better than WCFN 7. The event had everything, a good

cause, great fights, a fun crowd, and, for the first time ever at WCFN’s, BC Boxing on board. This means that the fights were officially sanctioned, refereed, and judged by officials from BC Boxing. What does the future of WCFN’s hold? Both Pelcz and Reynolds are proud to have BC Boxing involved in the events and are certain this will help them grow more than ever.

In fact, Pelcz and Reynolds hope to expand WCFN considerably. Pelcz and Reynolds hope to start a WCFN league

and invite competitors from around the world to compete. If the success of WCFN’s is any indication, Pelcz and Reynolds will, not only make this happen, but turn it into a successful, entertaining, unrivalled amateur boxing event. We at F.i.l.e.s. wish Contenders and the WCFN’s continued success. Stay with F.i.l.e.s for information on WCFN coming this fall.

For more information of Contenders please check out their website at:
www.contenders.ca.

For more information on A4K please check out their website at:

www.a4k.ca

A big thanks to www.masiphotography.com

ARTICLE COURTESY OF F.I.L.E.S. COVERAGE SNIPER JONATHAN HAMBLY AKA HAMBO