‘Corporate Knockout’ fundraising event to benefit Easter Seals SF

‘Corporate Knockout’ fundraising event to benefit Easter Seals SF
‘Corporate Knockout’ fundraising event to benefit Easter Seals SF
Pictured are (l-r) Kate Maxwell; Michael Shooster; an Easter Seals child; Estrella Manso, and Elena Aidova, event chair, organizer and founder.

If you ever have had the desire to see white collar pugilists attempt to pummel one another into submission for a good cause, now is your chance.

The first annual Corporate Knockout event, which pits nonprofessional businessworld boxers against one another in amateur exhibition matches, is set to take place on Oct. 5 at Magic City Casino’s Stage 305, 450 NW 37 Ave.

All proceeds will benefit children with disabilities and adults with Alzheimer’s disease or other memory disorders who receive services at Easter Seals South Florida. Event chair, organizer and founder Elena Aidova, an attorney at Holland & Knight LLP, is confident the fundraiser will prove to be like no other.

“The whole purpose of the event is to bring awareness, fun and excitement to Easter Seals South Florida,” she said. “We’ll hopefully have it as an annual event, and it’s definitely going to be more fun than your typical fundraiser.”

There will be at least eight bouts, two of which will be women’s contests, and fighters will be matched by gender, weight and skill level. The event will be held under Florida Boxing Commission guidelines, no match will exceed three rounds, and each round will be no more than two minutes in duration. All participants are required to wear headgear, mouthpieces and other protection and will be using 14-ounce gloves for additional safety.

Tickets start at $35, and there will be food, beverages — both alcoholic and nonalcoholic — and a halftime show to add variety to the spectacle. There will be donation boxes both at the event itself and at the weigh-ins, which will be held publicly the night before during happy hour between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. at The Hoxton, located at 1111 SW First Ave.

“It’s going to get bigger and bigger, because the buzz is already out there and after people come to the event they’re going to love it and we’ll keep going stronger,” Aidova said. “We are definitely looking for people to come support. The fighters are going to weigh-in and do a bit of trash talking.”

The event’s nonprofit beneficiary, Easter Seals South Florida, has been helping those with special needs since 1943. It offers a variety of services including early childhood education, early intervention, elementary school for children with autism, a culinary arts high school for young adults with autism and other disabilities, after school services, summer camp, and adult day care and respite services for seniors with Alzheimer’s disease.

Aidova, herself a volunteer at Easter Seals, had seen this particular type of fundraising event be successful while still pursuing her degree.

“I took a boxing fitness class and it was one of the hardest workouts I’d ever done,” she said. “I participated in a few charity boxing events when I was in law school and then I brought the idea down here.”

Some of Corporate Knockout’s participants will be representing Holland & Knight, ShubinBass, Mandel & Mandel, Ernst & Young, Perry Ellis International and many other local companies.

For more information, visit www.southflorida.easterseals.com. To purchase VIP tables or to offer sponsorships, send email to corporateKO@miamiseals.com


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