Long Island Fight for Charity returns for 17th annual bout

Two boxers sparred in the ring at the Academy of Boxing in Huntington Station on Tuesday, as Queen’s “Somebody to Love” played over their punches.

They're among the 22 volunteers this week who will be fighting to spread love and funding for Long Island charities.

The Long Island Fight for Charity holds its 17th annual bout on Thursday night at the Long Island Hilton in Melville after a two-year hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organizers say the event regularly brings in about $100,000 and has raised $1.75 million since it started in 2003. Each of the 22 boxers competing in 11 fights Thursday night is aiming to raise at least $10,000 for various charities.

Charities receiving funds this year include the Long Island Community Chest, which helps families in need due to unexpected medical issues; the East Meadow-based Genesis School for children with autism and the National Foundation for Human Potential in Old Bethpage.

Jeff Cohen, 54, of Port Jefferson, a co-founder of the event, which began in 2003, said it draws boxers who have never stepped into the ring.

“All the boxers think about is everything they do for charity to provide shelter or food or medical assistance,” Cohen said. “Some people will never know the hard work they've put in over the past few years.”

The fighters are usually business professionals and volunteers who train for months and sometimes years. They also raise additional funding for their own causes. Each bout lasts three rounds, timed at one to two minutes, according to the Long Island Fight for Charity website. USA boxing, which sanctions amateur boxing in New York, officiates and judges.

Tom Gibson, 59, of Glen Cove, had been training for about 10 months before the fight was canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.

Gibson, who works at a Melville networking company, said he began training to get in shape. The training lasted for nearly three years. In the process, he said he has lost 55 pounds.

But the wait to step into the ring has been agony.

“It’s been pure torture. It was frustrating and I kept having delays and now 33 months later, it’s hard to believe it’s almost over,” Gibson said. “I look at myself and if I did this in 10 months, it wouldn’t be as meaningful. As much anguish I’ve gone through, it’s been a great journey.”

Gibson said he has raised $14,000 and is supporting the Bellmore-based Imperfectly Perfect charity for congenital heart disease.

Thursday's fight also includes six women, including Dawn Jessica Strain, 48, of Queens. She has raised $30,000 and is backing the charity Smile Farms in Jericho, which helps people with developmental disabilities practice gardening and selling crops and flowers.

“It’s a challenge mentally and physically,” she said. “No sport is male or female dominated. It’s about whoever is brave enough to get in the ring.”