Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley and former councillor Shaz Saleem stepped into the ring at Dudley Town Hall on Friday, 21 August, for the annual Charity Boxing Showdown, raising £27,685 for local good causes.
The pair trained for months before trading leather in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Ticket sales through the council's box office raised £23,090, while raffle ticket sales brought in £3,109.37. The remainder came from donations. The final total is expected to rise once further ticket income from the event promoter is confirmed.
Where the money goes
The funds will be shared between charities supported by Councillor Pete Lowe, Mayor of Dudley, and former Mayor Councillor Pete Lee. Birmingham Children's Hospital will receive a donation of £2,000.
Councillor Lowe said: "What a bostin night for Dudley and, most importantly, for the charities that will benefit from this incredible effort! Patrick and Shaz have put months of hard work into their training, and it was fantastic to see them finally step into the ring and put all on the line. The atmosphere in the Town Hall was tremendous, and the crowd really got behind them."
He thanked ticket buyers, raffle participants, sponsors, and noted that a specially brewed 'Bostin Mayor's Beer' by The Green Duck sold out within an hour.
Councillor Harley added: "It was a brilliant night and after months of training, it was great to finally get in the ring with Shaz. But the boxing was only ever the means to an end. The whole point was to raise as much money as possible for charity, and to have raised nearly £28,000 is a fantastic result."
Event sponsors
The event was supported by businesses across Dudley borough. Platinum sponsors were S&R Construction and Brindley Capital. Gold sponsors included Dudley Motors, Thomas Dudley and IPL Schoeller. GMB Union and Fun City Dudley were silver sponsors, while Jewson Partnership Solutions, Racking UK and Sports Shop Kingswinford were bronze sponsors.
