It’s been an eventful year at Fight for Peace, and to top it all off we hosted our first home boxing show since March 2020 in collaboration with Islington Boxing Club! What a show it was! With six of our homeboys stepping into the ring to showcase their skill, commitment and pure talent in an afternoon of decision bouts. 

Among the mighty home boxers, Mahli, Eugen, Chi, Jakub, Nichki, Taseen and Amarli, some of whom were experiencing their first ever bout. All of the boxers showed courage and heart, as always as they stepped in to face their opponents in a three round box-off.

First up, we checked in with Fight for Peace Head Boxing Coach, Emmanuel to hear some of his thoughts on the day:

“The show was a massive success. All in all, we had six boxers on the show with three wins and three losses, and great learning for all of them.

One of the highlights of the day was Nickhi. He had a tough opponent who had a massive following and lots of people there to support him. The whole place went crazy, the roof went down, everybody was chanting and singing and praising them,” Emmanuel told us.

Nicki echoed that energy in his post-bout interview by sharing, “I can’t describe the feeling but, for anybody that sees this I want them to know that a feeling like this cannot be described, it’s something that’s experienced.”

Coach Emmanuel also shared intel on Nickhi’s fellow boxers, explaining that “Mahli had a great bout, and stopped his opponent. That’s a good one after he lost his first bout three weeks prior, so it’s good for his self confidence.

However Chi lost his bout on a split decision; it could have gone either way. We also had a loss from Eugen, he had a wonderful first round. His opponent came strong in the second and third rounds so he lost on a split decision. Unfortunately Jakub had an injury on his shoulders so he couldn’t continue,” he shared.

The icing on the cake was Armali, who stopped his opponent in the first round. It was a massive success and everybody had fun. The boxers did really well, that in turn made other young people come to the coaching team to sign up for competitive boxing, we now have almost 30 boxers that are willing to compete, and we can’t wait to do it again in 2024,” said Emmanuel.

Recruiting new members through shows like this demonstrates the power of coming together as a community to cheer one another on, and is proof that boxing and martial arts has the power to inspire and encourage others to step out of their comfort zones and take on new challenges. 

We are always very proud of all of our young boxers, and despite some facing adversity in the ring, their courage and determination always shines through no matter the outcome, and we have every confidence they will continue to grow and build on their repertoire of knowledge, talent and skill. 

Looking into 2024, team Fight for Peace is excited to see our athletes reach new heights, and continue to support each other to reach their goals, both in their chosen sports, and in life. Until next time!

Well done to all of the boxers from both teams for gracing us with their talent, and big thank you to our coaches, and to Islington Boxing Club for collaborating with us on such a brilliant show. Thank you to Young Creatives Lily and Zaynab for capturing the day so expertly through social media and photography.