LI Fight for Charity boxing bouts announced for 2024

Business professionals and executives from across the Island will be fighting in this fall’s Long Island Fight for Charity.

The annual event, now in its 19th year, pits business owners and members of the Island’s business community in paired matchups. This year’s night of fights will be held Nov. 25 at the Hilton Long Island in Melville, located at 598 Broadhollow Rd.

Participants in this year’s series of bouts were first announced in May, with a handful of additional competitors joining throughout the year. Matchups of fighters were announced at a cocktail party at the Heritage Club at Bethpage last month.

“The purpose behind it is for local businesspeople, both men and women, to be trained to box and ultimately raise money for a bunch of really great causes,” Steve Kirschbaum, chairman of Long Island Fight for Charity, said of the event this spring.

Business-people-turned-boxers commit to months of training and conditioning to prepare for the fight, which is expected to raise more than $200,000 for local charitable organizations.

Previous beneficiaries of the event include the Long Island Community Chest and the Eden II/Genesis Program, a provider of community-based programs for people with autism.

Fighters have each committed to raising at least $10,000, organizers said.

Matchups for the 2024 LI Fight for Charity include:

• Theodore “Media Maverick” Massillon, of Fresh Meadows, Queens, with NOM Media vs. Travis “Tasmanian Devil” Frasier, of Holbrook, with Elite Restoration & Construction Inc.
• Justice “Prevails” Lallier, of East Setauket, with Long Island Ducks vs. Patrick “The Irish Banshee Packy Balboa” Ryan, of West Islip, with A Gentle Touch Senior Home Care
• Eric “BigFitRick” Ramsay, of Bay Shore, with Ramsay Realtors vs. Carlos “El Salvador” Lizama, of Huntington, with Buckmiller Automatic Sprinkler Corp.
• Brian “The Schwartzenator” Schwartz, of Farmingdale, with Flagstar Bank vs. Ken “Mayhem” Marcus, of Melville, with Allstate
• Sammy “Bamboo” Chu, of Lindenhurst, with Edgewise Energy vs. Rob “The Big Show” Madden, of Huntington, with Edward Jones Investments
• Dimitri “The Hellenic Hammer” Sevastos, of Seaford, with Optimus Primers vs. Billy “The Bruiser” Jenkins, of Rocky Point, with TEKsystems

Due to the need to have balanced bouts by age, weight and height, the following charity fighters will be matched up against local amateur fighters who will be announced later this year:

• Joe “Big Joe” DeSalvo, of Massapequa, with Tim White Construction
• Anthony “Don Nino” Lambroia, of East Northport, with Corbett Public Relations
• Zachary “The Zach Attack” Merritt, of Plainview, with Lessing’s Hospitality Group
• Esperanza “The Truth” Viera, of Bay Shore, with Jones Hollow Realty Group