EVANSVILLE, Ind. (AP) - The 7th annual Guns and Hoses boxing match, in which Tri-State firefighters and law enforcement officers face head-on in the squared circle, is set for Saturday at the Ford Center in downtown Evansville.
The event is the flagship fundraiser for 911 Gives Hope - a nonprofit composed of local public safety members that raises money to better the lives of children and people with disabilities. But no punches will be pulled Saturday night in front of the thousands of fans.
This year, lagging behind the “Hoses” team record of 4-2, the “Guns” crew will put it all in to bring back the championship belt - bragging rights they haven’t been able to boast about in three years.
The event will feature 13 matches, consisting of three one-minute rounds, the Evansville Courier & Press reported (https://bit.ly/1hwZw9F ). The team with the most wins at the end of the night wins the belt. But winning isn’t what it’s all about, said Evansville firefighter and former Golden Gloves fighter Mike Doran.
“It won’t be the first time I’ve got my butt kicked and it probably won’t be the last,” said Doran about his upcoming bout with Ben Lewis, a Welsh sheriff’s deputy from Wayne County, Ill. “But it’s all for the kids.”
Since the charity’s inception, the group has raised $617,000, with $100,000 of that from last year’s boxing event.
Half of the money raised has gone toward dozens of local charities, with the other half funding a group home for people with Prader-Willi syndrome, a rare genetic disease that causes those afflicted to experience chronic hunger.
Evansville Police Officer Pat Phernetton’s 17-year-old daughter, Mickey, was born with Prader-Willi, which led to the creation of the charity and its flagship boxing show.
Tickets are $12 and $27 before fees, and are on sale at ticketmaster.com or at the Ford Center.
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Information from: Evansville Courier & Press, https://www.courierpress.com
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