This is exciting! One of the [many] deciding factors to box in the Long Island Fight For Charity was that the fight itself would be an official USA Boxing-sanctioned event. This means that not only does the bout itself follow the bylaws of USA Boxing Metro but we, each participating boxer, get registered as USA Boxing amateur boxers—making this as real as it gets.
From my understanding, some of the fight guidelines mandated by USA Boxing include age ranges of less than 40 and 40+ (with a 10-year age swing) as well as weight classes within 10 lbs. Considering all of the participants are fighting in a single evening, the number of boxers will make matching-up a bit of a challenge for the Foundation. But, they have made it work each year for over a decade now and certainly will this time.
In addition, a more subjective criteria will be incorporated: skill. This weekend we will [all] participate in a sparring session that will help the Foundation assess skill and fine-tune their match up efforts. Having boxers of commensurate skill is not only fair but will insure a good show for the audience. The forthcoming match ups will be announced October 3, 2017 at a special event held in Hauppauge, NY.
Being an official boxer means you’re provided a “book”—a passport of sorts—that is required to participate in such events as well as logging your performance history. Although, for me, this is a charity effort as well as a one-off personal bucket list challenge, this registration process adds a level of prestige and legitimacy that I can be proud of for a life time.
Speaking of my charity effort… as mentioned in an earlier post, I have pledged to raise $5,000 for the Long Island-based foundations this event is supporting. At the time of this writing, I am a little past the half way mark. For those of you who have donated so generously, I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart. For those yet to purchase an event ticket or make a donation (yes, ANY amount is a help to these organizations), please open your hearts and bless these good folks. You can CLICK HERE to view the ticket, sponsor and donation options. I just ask that you please select Eliud “The Vortex” Custodio as the boxer you’re supporting at Checkout so I can get closer to my goal.