Charity Boxing Evening December 2007

Have you ever thought what walking to that ring would be like?

They start to play your music, you hear the roar of approval - your approval.
It sends a shiver down your spine and you focus hard.
Up ahead you see the MC holding a piece of paper. As you walk through the crowd familiar faces shout words of encouragement.
Then you're in the ring and the referee starts barking orders about wanting a good clean fight. His words go over your head because you are eyeball to eyeball with your opponent.
You walk back to your corner, your heart bursting, knowing that when that bell goes you've got to come out fighting......

Tonight here at Sheffield's Grosvenor House Hotel, you will be taking part in - believe me - one of the biggest challenges of your life. You will be doing something that many people wish they had the courage to do, climbing up those three steps into a boxing ring.

This will be the final step in what have been many weeks of hard training. Sometimes you didn't feel like training, sometimes you felt sick after training and at times it did go through your mind to quit and not bother with it.
But you didn't quit and here we are tonight for what will be a night you will remember for the rest of your life, and when you are old and grey you won't be sat in your old people's nursing home telling your grandkids about what you did at work, you will be sat there telling them about the time you climbed up in to a boxing ring, and how it felt being in there.

All the money raised tonight will be donated to Ella's Fund and Sheffield Children's Hospital.

Ella was diagnosed in February 07 with an aggresive brain tumour and underwent three operations in a matter of days. Since then she has endured intensive courses of radiotherapy and chemotherapy in a bid to halt the cancer. Ella's parents Jo and Rob are determined to show their gratitude to staff at Sheffield Children's Hospital and have organised many fund raising events since February.

We at Sheffield Boxing Centre became aware of Ella's Fund through an article that appeared in the Sheffield Telegraph in September - just reading about Jo and Rob's fund raising efforts inspired us to "do our bit" by putting on tonight's show, which we hope will do Ella proud.

Finally as someone who has climbed up those three steps on many occasions, I would just like to say how much I admire you for taking part in tonight's promotion. I would also like to congratulate John McCormack on all his hard work in putting together tonight's show; trust me I know how hard it is to organise a show like tonight's. Well done John.

So all that leaves me to say is good luck and at the sound of the bell, come out fighting and protect yourself at all times.

Glyn "showboat" Rhodes MBE

Various other Photos from the show