FIGHTING IRISH
FDNY pugilists take on cops from Emerald Isle
It’s Friday night fights, with a twist.
The throwdown at Terminal 5 will pit the FDNY Bravest Boxing Team against the Garda Siochana Boxing Club of the Irish National Police Service for the 2018 Transatlantic Championship.
The event, dubbed War on the West Side, is sponsored by Georgi Vodka and Donegal Estates Irish Whiskey. Martin Silver, CEO of Star Industries, the New York-based owner of both labels, has been a supporter of all of the FDNY’s boxing events for the past 10 years, said team president Bobby McGuire.
During the evening, Bravest Boxing will present a check for $10,000 to Building Homes for Heroes, which constructs mortgage-free, handicapped-accessible housing for veterans returning with severe injuries. Four injured Marine veterans — Capt. James Byler, Cpl. Kevin Vaughan, Gunnery Sgt. Christopher Claude and Sgt. Greg Caron — will be inducted into the club’s Ring of Honor.
The action begins at 8 p.m. when welterweight Matt Restrepo from Ladder 168 in Brooklyn steps into the ring against Salvatore Pormilia, but if the past is any indication, the team title won’t be determined until much later.
McGuire said the FDNY and the Irish cops have split six previous meetings.
The FDNY team features acclaimed amateur fighter Josiah Rivera, a light-heavyweight from Engine 82 in The Bronx, super-heavyweight Jonathan Velasquez from Engine 28 in Manhattan, and, in the one women’s match on the 10-bout card, Hildy Santana of Engine 75 in The Bronx.
“She’s an exciting fighter, definitely a warrior,” FDNY coach Mike Reno said of Santana. “She loves to go forward and fight hard. As a firefighter, we love that. As a boxer, we’re trying to work on her footwork and movement.”
McGuire said the stakes in an international event surpass those in the FDNY’s frequent athletic competitions against the NYPD.
“It’s even more because besides representing our department, we’re also representing our city against Dublin, and our country against Ireland,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of pride in our team and in our job, and we don’t take kindly when a team comes from another city and another country and whups us in our own backyard.”
Doors at the West 56th Street venue open at 7 p.m. Ringside seats are sold out, but $30 general-admission tickets were available as of Thursday evening.
The majority of the Irish squad arrived Thursday night, and was taken to dinner at Mustang Harry’s by McGuire and Reno. The FDNY squad would not be in attendance at the midtown watering hole.
“Our [fighters] will be home, behaving, while we’re wining and dining the Irish team,” McGuire said.
But the outcome is far from in the bag.
“It’s never in the bag against the Irish,” McGuire said with a chuckle. “There’s absolutely no quit in their team and certainly no quit in our team. They train for these grueling matches [three two-minute rounds] on their own time, and all of them are in fantastic shape. Our guys, I know for sure, are ready to go the full six minutes. Not too many guys will be taking steps backwards.”