What started as banter in a Sixth Form Common Room recently led to two amateur boxing bouts between four young men from Horsforth and Cookridge raising £ 700 for CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young), a charity which funds heart screening for young people aged between 14 and 35 and campaigns for a free, nationwide screening programme.
The four seventeen year olds – Travis Filono, Ben Stephenson, Louis Dennison and Jake Uren – arranged training with Richard Smith who runs Bad Company Gym in east Leeds. ‘We had four months of intense training’ explained Travis ‘but Richard and Joe Craven, a young but already experienced fighter, really encouraged us to take it seriously. We were nervous before our bouts but also excited and keen to show what we’d learned while raising money for a charity that does loads for young people like us.’ ‘The fights were tough none of us were just playing at it and we were all buzzing afterwards’ said Louis. Richard added ‘The lads rose to the training challenge developing good technique and stamina improving their skill and fitness. Everyone is so proud of them for their determination and sheer physical courage which made for an excellent boxing show enjoyed by about a hundred people’.
‘We were cardiac tested recently at a screening in Doncaster’ explained boxer Jake ‘and we’re delighted that people enjoyed our event which will make it possible for more young people to be screened’. His mate Ben Stephenson added ‘It’s also made us all more confident and we’re all just so proud to have risen to the challenge and hopefully helped others.’
The event was also attended by local CRY representative Chris Embling whose son Rory died suddenly aged 26 in 2014. ‘The boxing was an epic event and a very novel way to raise finance for us so we‘re grateful to the lads who put in so much effort and Richard and Joe who gave so generously of their time’. The money raised is being donated to the Rory Embling Foundation, part of CRY, to fund more potentially lifesaving screenings. The boxers also want to thank Horsforth Fitness gym for training facilities and The Yorkshire Mafia Company and Gables Building Services for sponsorship.
More information on the Rory Embling Foundation can be found at:
http://www.c-r-y.org.uk/rory-embling/
