Service industry pros get punchy for good cause

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – They sling grub for a living, but can they throw a punch?

How about some fries with that knuckle sandwich?

Food service industry professionals from around Vancouver are putting up their dukes for the second annual “Aprons for Gloves” boxing benefit next month.

The Restaurant Rumble fundraiser started last year when the Eastside Boxing Club was looking for a new space.

With its current home above the Woodland Smoke House firmly secure, head coach David Schuck says the goal this year is helping the club do what it does best, which is giving back to the community.

“We’ve just set up programs for kids and work with battered women’s groups.  It’s pretty much just a community-minded non profit that we have,” he says.

“We are doing this to effect as many different groups as we can that are disadvantaged or troubled.  That’s the whole goal.  I don’t just say, ‘I want to change just battered women or indigenous youth’ or anything like that.  We’re going to try and reach as many people as we can,” he explains.

Boxers have been training for the past six weeks and the first weigh-ins were held last night.

Schuck says if the inaugural event is any indication, the competition is going to be fierce.

“If you ever saw the fights from last year, these guys were dropping each other and getting back up… the intensity these guys showed, the perseverance they showed was just incredible,” Schuck insists.

Fight Night is July 24th at the Fei and Milton Wong Experimental Theatre located within the Goldcorp Centre for the Arts at SFU Woodwards.