The horrendous attack against a serving soldier in Woolwich last week, which culminated the death of drummer Lee Rigby, shocked the nation to the core. The aftermath of this most senseless of killings has led to an outpouring of support for the brave souls, who in the line of duty put their life in danger to protect us and our country on a daily basis.
Whilst some of those less enlightened have focused on revenge, by mounting equally senseless attacks on Muslims and Muslim owned businesses, the majority of the nation have joined together to voice their support of our troops, with message of support on the social networks, leaving flowers and messages at the Royal Artillery barracks in Woolwich or by donating to the fantastic charity ‘Help For Heroes’.
Some, such as boxers Lewis Pettitt and Adam Dingsdale, felt compelled to show their support in a different way, in their case, by inviting Lee Rigby’s battalion compadres as guests to their upcoming fights on the Johnny Eames ‘Two Tribes’ event at York Hall in London this coming Saturday.
Lewis and Adam, who are coached by Al Smith at iGym, personally bought five tickets each and TCS Contracting in Dartford, the company Lewis works for, bought twenty more and donated them to the cause, with event promoters TRAD TKO Events donating a further ten.
With enough tickets in place, the next obstacle for Lewis and Adam to overcome was contacting the battalion commander, not an easy task due, as Lewis was to discover when he went to Woolwich barracks on Thursday.
Unfortunately due to the increased security Lewis was unable to contact the battalion commander, not to be deterred Lewis turned to social networking site Facebook to make contact with a serving soldier at the barracks, who in turn contacted the battalion commander on the boxers behalf.
TRAD TKO promoter Johnny Eames said of Lewis and Adam’s endeavor.
“Everyone at the gym is in shock at the senseless killing of Lee Rigsby, a few, especially those who live close to the barracks or had been serving soldiers have been discussing ways we can show long term support to our troops, then Al Smith called me to say that Lewis and Adam, as well as Lewis’ boss, wanted to buy some tickets to give to serving soldiers at Woolwich.
Straight away both Rio (Gianluca Di Caro) and myself instantly offered to donate some also, we felt it was the least we can do.
We are encouraging everyone at the gym to buy ‘Help for Heroes’ t-shirts and wear them on Saturday, to show their support of our troops, who we feel do a magnificent job.
It would be great if everyone coming on Saturday wears a ‘Help for Heroes’ t-shirt on Saturday, not just our fighters, to show their support for our troops.”
To buy a ‘Help for Heroes’ t-shirt or make a donation to this worthwhile cause please go to www.helpforheroes.org.uk
Lewis Pettitt and Adam Dingsdale feature on the undercard of Colin Lynes versus Beka Sutidze, which headlines the Johnny Eames promoted ‘Two Tribes Go To War’ event at York Hall in Bethnal Green, London on Saturday 1st June 2013.
Tickets, priced £35 (Standard Seated) and £60 (Ringside) are available on line at www.tkoboxoffice.com or in person at the TRAD TKO Boxing Gym in Canning Town or from direct from Freddie or any of the fighters taking part.
Undefeated Lightweight Prospect Mel Crossty Returns To Action June 14
Next month from his hometown of Cincinnati, Ohio, undefeated lightweight up-and-coming prospect Mel “Black Diamond” Crossty (5-0-1, 1 KO) will return to action following a near 16-month layoff as he seeks his sixth consecutive win as a professional.
Having turned pro in 2008, Crossty stayed consistent within the squared circle, defeating the opponents he needed to, keeping his unblemished record intact.
His career hit a speed bump in 2009 when he encountered managerial issues, and was unable to get a fight. But rather than becoming complacent with his training he stayed diligent and awaited his opportunity to lace up the leather again and go to work.
Recently signing with Starpower Boxing out of Cincinnati— a full spectrum boxing managerial company—Crossty is anxious to return to action June 14.
“Come June 14 I’m looking to be very impressive, which I know I will be,” said Crossty. “I am ready to get back in there and do what I know how to do. At the end of the day it is about getting that victory, and I’m ready to get it done.”
At 27-years-old Crossty has already has the chance to spar with world champions and contenders, including Adrien Broner, Devon Alexander and Sharif Bogere, to name a few, and most recently has been training in Las Vegas with Floyd Mayweather Sr. in preparation of his upcoming bout.
Crossty has the fast hands and the determination to reemerge onto the boxing scene and make an impact within the lightweight division, and his road to working towards the hardware will commence June 14.
“My training has been going great,” Crossty continued. “I have been getting great work, and been giving those guys great work as well. I really feel that right now, I am ready to match someone will my skill level. I believe that going forward in six or seven fights I will be able to compete with any of the top fighters. Right now it’s about going out there and feeling comfortable in the ring.”
Now teamed up with Starpower Boxing, Mel Crossty has a promising future ahead of him as long as he can execute inside the ring as he has done through the early part of his pro career. A soft-spoken, class act in and out of the ring who wants nothing more than to fight and pursue his dream of going to war for a world title one day, Crossty is anxious to pick up where he left off last April.
“Now being with Starpower Boxing, we are taking it straight up,” said Crossty. “I am one of the first fighters on Starpower, and we are ready to take it to the next level. We are going to make my name big and the Starpower name big. Getting to the top is what we are set on, and that’s what we plan on doing.”
Also on the card is Starpower’s welterweight William “Action” Jackson (10-1-1, 5 KO). Jackson is a quick and powerful welterweight who stayed busy inside the ring until 2011 when he ran into his own promotional problems. During his run he took down up-and-coming undefeated prospects, and at 24-years-old is bringing both experience and maturity into the ring June 14 when he looks to get back to his winning ways and put on a show in front of his Ohio fan base.
Starpower Boxing was established Michael Grace in 2013 to give boxers a stable managerial company to be fight under with the fighters’ best intentions in mind.
