Saturday night, Penn graduate students will resort to jabs, left hooks and uppercuts to settle inter-school rivalries — but all in the name of charity.
Philly Fight Night, a boxing match to benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Philadelphia, will pit graduate students from the Wharton School, the Law School and the School of Engineering and Applied Science against one another in the ring.
“We’ve all been training very hard, we’re all pumped up, and hope to see great results for our charity,” said Elena Aidova, president of the Penn Law Boxing Club and event participant.
The annual event, now in its sixth year, is planned by Fighting for Philly Kids, a non-profit organization co-chaired every year by a Wharton MBA student and a Penn Law student. The event is held at The Legendary Blue Horizon, a historic boxing venue in Philadelphia.
Event planners hope to raise $60,000 tomorrow, an increase of $5,000 from last year.
“Most of the guys are inexperienced,” said Donal McElwee, president of the Wharton Boxing Club. McElwee, who boxed in “a couple of amateur fights in Scotland,” added, however, that competitors receive boxing training. This year, boxers trained at The Sporting Club in the Bellevue, according to McElwee.
The event will consist of eight fights, each consisting of three rounds. However, “entourages” for the fighters help provide entertainment and make it “more exciting” than traditional boxing, McElwee said.
“The fighting is very real, but it’s entertainment first,” he said.
Judges for the event include Roosevelt’s Pub owner Ellis Walding and Philadelphia Eagles tight end Brent Celek.
“We’re going to top last year,” said Aidova. “We have more fights, more heavyweights, and two girl fights.”
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