Hall of Famer Riddick Bowe Joins Team Fight to Walk!

 

New York, NY (December 30, 2014) – 2015 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee and former heavyweight champion Riddick “Big Daddy” Bowe has joined Team Fight to Walk.

 

An elite heavyweight in his heyday, Bowe captured the undisputed world championship in 1992 after besting then-unbeaten Evander Holyfield. Bowe and Holyfield fought twice more, with Holyfield winning the rematch and Bowe dramatically stopping the future hall of famer in the rubber match. The Bowe-Holyfield trilogy is considered one of the greatest in boxing history. In addition to twice besting Holyfield, Bowe defeated former or future champions Pinklon Thomas, Tony Tubbs, Bruce Seldon, Michael Dokes and Herbie Hide.

 

Recently, Bowe met Team Fight to Walk co-founder Boyd Melson at the WBC Convention in Las Vegas where Melson received the Ambassador of Peace Award. The two started talking and Bowe immediately took an interest in the cause Melson fights for. Shortly after the convention, he agreed to join Team Fight to Walk and the fight against paralysis. 

 

“When Boyd told me what he was doing, I was amazed,” Bowe said. “I was familiar with spinal cord injuries after hearing about the accident Paul Williams was in a few years back and I know he’s fighting to walk again. But to hear that somebody donates all of their earnings in the ring when everybody else is concerned with keeping every penny possible is really something else. My goal is to help raise awareness and show people that even though things may be dim that there is a bright light (with the pending trials).”

 

“Spending time with Riddick at the WBC Convention was incredible on multiple levels,” said Melson. “When I told him about Team Fight to Walk’s mission, he immediately wanted to join. He told me that meeting my father and I was one of the best things to happen to him in a long time. I was incredibly honored to hear him say that because I grew up watching Riddick. He was a great fighter and his willingness to join Team Fight to Walk as he’s on his way into the Hall of Fame means the world to us.”

 

For more information on Team Fight to Walk or to donate, go to Teamfighttowalk.com. All questions about Team Fight to Walk or Spinal Cord Injuries can be emailed to Boydmelson@Teamfighttowalk.com.

 

Contact: Matt Yanofsky (Team Fight to Walk Publicist) –551-206-0578 or @kopublicity

Limited tickets still available for Sunday's 27th annual Ring 8 Holiday Event & Awards Ceremony

At Russo's On The Bay in Howard Beach, NY

NEW YORK, NY (Dec. 4, 2013) - Limited tickets are still available for this Sunday afternoon's (12:00-5:30 p.m. ET) 27th annual RING 8 Holiday Event and Awards Ceremony at the famed Russo's On The Bay in Howard Beach, New York. Tickets, priced at $125.00 per person, are available to purchase by calling1.718.729.4862 or 1.516.313.2304. People are advised to call for reservations to avoid being shutout.  Donations of any denomination are also welcome for those unable to attend the festivities.  Tickets include a complete brunch with cocktail hour upon entry, seating at the awards ceremony, dinner and dessert, and top-shelf open bar throughout the afternoon. There will also be a silent auction of boxing memorabilia. "Ring 8 proudly continues its sterling record for lending a helping hand to those in the boxing community who are less fortunate," Ring 8 president Bob Duffy said. "Some may require assistance towards paying their rent, medical expenses, or whatever justifiable need.  Each year our Holiday Event and Awards Ceremony celebrates our great sport of boxing, insuring much-needed funding is raised so we may continue our mission for our needy brothers and sisters in boxing. We will never waver from their corners." Expected attending celebrities include last year's Ring 8 Fighter of the Year, undefeated WBO middleweight champion Peter "Kid Chocolate" Quillin, as well as world champions Pinklon Thomas, Vito Antuofermo, Mark Breland, Michael Bentt, Tony DeMarco, Luis Colazzo and Junior Jones, plus world heavyweight title challenger Renaldo "Mr." Snipes, Bobby Cassidy and others. Below is a list of 2013 Ring 8's award winners: 2013 Ring 8 Award Winners Fighter of the Year:  Danny Garcia Uncrowned Champion:  Gasper Ortega Official of the Year:  Deputy Commissioner Robert Orlando Amateur Official of the Year:  Dan Gant Member of the Year:  Carmine Rastelli Professional Judge of the Year:  John McKaie Prospect of the Year:  Seanie Monahan Professional Trainer of the Year:  Bob Jackson Amateur Trainer of the Year:  Joe Higgins Emile Griffith Good Guy Award:  Sal Corrente Long & Meritorious Service:  Dr. William "Bill" Lathan Special Presentation:  Bobby Bartels & Lenny Mangiapane (honoring the 50th anniversary of their classic main event fight at Madison Square Garden) Go online to www.Ring8ny.com for more information about Ring 8 or its annual Holiday Events and Awards Ceremony.  Russo's On The Bay is located at 162-45 Crossbay Blvd. in Howard Beach(718.843.5055).

ABOUT RING 8:  Formed in 1954 by an ex-prizefighter, Jack Grebelsky, Ring 8 became the eighth subsidiary of what was then known as the National Veteran Boxers Association - hence, RING 8 - and today the organization's motto still remains: Boxers Helping Boxers. RING 8 is fully committed to supporting less fortunate people in the boxing community who may require assistance in terms of paying rent, medical expenses, or whatever justifiable need. Go on line to www.Ring8ny.com for more information about RING 8, the largest group of its kind in the United States with more than 350 members. Annual membership dues is only $30.00 and each member is entitled to a buffet dinner at RING 8 monthly meetings, the third Tuesday of every month, excluding July and August.  All active boxers, amateur and professional, are entitled to a complimentary RING 8 yearly membership.