White-collar boxers punch their way to charity
Black eyes and bloody noses are part of boxing, but are rather less common for the city’s white-collar workers. However, a group of Bangkok expats are set to risk their good looks for a good cause by stepping into the ring to raise money for disadvantaged Thai children requiring facial surgery.
The charity, Operation Smile Thailand (OST), is the local branch of a worldwide organisation providing surgery for poor children with cleft lips or cleft palates.
About one in 500 Thai babies are born with the condition, which can affect speech, eating, drinking and even breathing. Corrective surgery can be performed in as little as 45-60 minutes, but the costs are often prohibitively high for many rural Thai families — which is where OST comes in.
The annual Operation Smile Fight Night is the brainchild of OST board secretary Therese Beauvais. Now in its third year, the event will be staged on Oct 17 at the Dusit Thani Hotel.
In early 2011, Beauvais, from Lake City, Minnesota, pitched the idea to Craig Somerville, a former amateur boxer from Salford, England, now living in Bangkok. Somerville jumped at the chance to put his expertise to good use and train up a team of white-collar boxers for the cause.
‘‘The compassion, love, caring and real action by all of the OST volunteers is what sold it to me,’’ said Somerville, now an official OST ambassador.
His enthusiasm for the charity — and the sport — were transferred to those who turned up for training; they were moulded over five months into competition-ready boxers.
‘‘The commitment and dedication shown by everyone who has competed each year has been amazing, especially as they have been businessmen with little free time,’’ Somerville, 38, said. ‘‘From no boxing experience to putting on a great show in front of 400 people — truly amazing.’’
Tony Wrigley, executive chef at the Sala Rattanakosin hotel, was among last year’s competitors.
On the night, the master chef turned master boxer, winning the night’s opening bout. He attributed his victory to Somerville’s regimen.
‘‘It was one of the best things I have done in my life,’’ said Wrigley, 40. ‘‘The training at times was incredibly difficult, but we were surrounded by a brilliant bunch of people who helped and inspired everybody. It was a fantastic team effort for all those involved and such great fun.’’
Last year’s event raised 2.2 million baht for the charity, aided by the Dusit Thani granting free use of its ballroom and calling on partners to donate food and drink.
Somerville, who also fought and won last year, saw for himself the difference the money made when he travelled to Si Sa Ket Hospital last February to watch surgeries being performed.
‘‘Seeing the faces of the parents whose children would be getting the lifechanging surgeries was just something else,’’ he said. ‘‘And being a father to two young children myself, I could feel the joy and anxiety of the parents, most of whom were from extremely remote, poor areas of northeastern Thailand.
‘‘Watching the surgeries being performed gave me a true appreciation of how in as little as 45 minutes a skilled surgeon can change a child’s life forever.’’
Now, another batch of boxing hopefuls is entering the final weeks of a marathon training camp, aiming at replicating last year’s success.
Among them is Matt Christensen, 28, representing the DFDL Legal and Tax emerging markets law firm.
Christensen, from Green Bay, Wisconsin, learned to box from ‘‘day one’’ under Somerville. ‘‘We have been training for close to six months, seemingly endless hours of drills, bag work and sparring,’’ he said. ‘‘I am definitely excited for the fight, as all of this hard work is finally going to pay off.’’
Christensen attended last year’s Fight Night and was impressed by what he saw.
‘‘It was very Vegas-esque,’’ he said. ‘‘Big screens, bright lights, the whole nine yards. It was a lot of fun.’’
This year, he’ll be taking on Richard Cohen, founder of The Lab strength and conditioning gym on Sukhumvit Road.
Other bouts on the card will see Les Weaver of cleaning machine manufacturer Hako East Asia challenge Richard Bell of Cornerstone Management construction consultancy, while the Dusit Thani will have a ‘‘house’’ fighter as its COO David Shackleton is set to tackle Big Chilli magazine editor Colin Hastings.
The main event will be a pro-style showdown between French amateur regional champion Franck Marin and Jon Nutt of Dare Fight Sports, a mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion. Nutt, from Marblehead, Massachusetts, is an experienced boxing, Muay Thai and MMA competitor.
Marin, 23, from Ventrabren, France, who now works for the international relocations firm JVK Movers, says he turned to boxing because he was a ‘‘very bad kid, always fighting at school’’.
Through the sport, he improved his character quickly. ‘‘Boxing is a very hard and strict sport,’’ he said. ‘‘There are no results without training and sacrifice. So, it teaches you strong values such as respect, empathy and discipline, which work as guidelines for your personal life.’’
Bangkok Fight Club has served as the official training venue, even granting free tuition for those fighting for the charity. Chief instructor Sukpong ‘‘Noom’’ Na Nakorn and wife Wichuta ‘‘Vicky’’ Lohityotin said they gladly allowed OST boxers to use the facilities for free. ‘‘OST is a charity that really works,’’ Vicky said. ‘‘After we learned that, we wanted to get involved and fight for the children.’’
Operation Smile Fight Night 2013 will be at Dusit Thani Hotel from 6.30pm on Oct 17. Tickets from 3,300 baht. Entry includes four boxing matches, a cocktail reception, three-course meal, free-flow beer, wine and whisky, plus games and classic boxing videos. Call 09-277-4932.
For more information about Operation Smile visit www.operationsmile.or.th or call 02-656-1992.
For more information about classes and memberships at Bangkok Fight Club, visit www.bangkokfightclub.com or call Noom on 08-9885-1112.