Boxing

Yes, you read that right, I'm blogging about a sport I know nearly next to nothing about and a sport which I've never blogged about before. So, please bear with me while I write this.

The folks in and around the Berks County area late June were deeply saddened, by in large, as a whole when they learned of Deputy Sheriff Kyle Pagerly's death by a single gunshot wound to the head. Pagerly was just doing his job as a policeman when regarding the call of going after a suspect wanted on burglary and weapons charges that fateful night along with his K-9 partner Jynx. Since then, Pagerly and his partner Jynx have been honored in countless ways. There have been runs, games dedicated to him, a bike ride, a 5k, and now there will be a boxing promotion to help Pagerly's wife Alecia and their unborn child on Friday night at the Crowne Plaza in Wyomissing. The funds raised will go towards the Kyle Pagerly memorial find.
The tickets for the fight are $35, with ringside being at $50, and a V.I.P. with meet and greets with the boxers is $65, along with ringside tickets. The fight is being promoted by King's Promotions, with the fighters mainly coming from the gym. There will be in total 12 bouts, with 2 being exhibitions. The other ten promotions will be split evenly, five of them being professional matches and the other five being amateur bouts. All of these fights will feature fighters from King's Boxing. Go to kingsboxing.com for more info on them.
One of the exhibitions will be fought by one of Pagerly's former partners, Mike Jackson. Jackson heard about the fight through one of his co-workers, about a month and a half ago. So, Jackson decided to go for it, as he had "never before" gone into the ring. Jackson learned a lot while in the ring, and he thought it was cool to train. Jackson also said while he thought it was cool to do, it's something he will "probably never do again, with 1 child and another on the way." Jackson will be fighting a member of Reading's finest, John Gooch in a three round exhibition fight.
One of the other fights will feature the owner of Dino's Wings and Things, 5306 Allentown Pike, Temple. Dino Iaccarino. So, it made sense that one of the promotions to help this fight was held last night at Dino's where patrons were treated to a buffet which featured four different types of wings, cheese fries, mozzarella sticks and a fried vegetable along with soda and celery. Although there were only four types of wings offered in the buffet, the restaurant offers more than 25 varieties of wings.
Iaccarino will be fighting his last match as a professional, as he'd like to work on developing more wing flavors and his restaurant, which he has owned and operated for the past seven years. Iaccarino is 4-2 in his professional career, none of them being knockouts. He is doing this "just for fun", and since he is one of the sponsors, he has developed one of the videos and will have his business all over his robe and trunks. Iaccarino jokingly said "even if I lose, I may as well be a walking billboard." Which, could be true.
Some of the other fighters featured are just starting out in their careers. Those other fighters include Frank DeAlba and Cesar Gonzalez. DeAlba is a lightweight, and 2-1 in his professional career, neither of his wins coming by knockout. Both DeAlba and his trainer, Marshall Kauffman have a lot of faith that his career will go far. Both think that DeAlba can become a champion, Kauffman said that DeAlba can become a champion in "at most, five years." DeAlba said he is doing this fight "for the love of the sport," and he wants "people to come and show love for the family."
Gonzalez, on the other hand, while he may be on the older end of the spectrum, at 35, still has aspirations to become champion in the featherweight division. He hopes to overcome his age and former criminal background to gain traction. He has confidence in himself, hoping to become champion in "max three years." Gonzalez feels he can get to the top of the mountain by beating up on younger opponents, as they, in his words, "feel entitled, they don't get into the gym and work hard." He goes on to say that "I still wouldn't be boxing if that (championship) wasn't the goal." Gonzalez works a lot at the gym, and is trying to become a better boxer and get away from his past, which include convictions for armed robbery and he has an open case of intent to deliver drugs. But, he does want to do the fight not only because he "loved boxing, but when he heard it was to support Kyle Pagerly, I wanted to support 100%."
Finally, the fights are just to build up these fighters careers and to help the Kyle Pagerly Memorial Fund. Again, here is all of the information:
When: Friday, November 18, 6 p.m.
Where: Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1741 Papermill Road, Wyomissing, PA.
How much: Tickets range from $35 to $65, depending on general admission or ringside, or V.I.P. treatment.
How many fights: 12, five professional, five amateur, two exhibitions.
Who: Boxers from King's promotions

Be sure to come out and support the fallen officer and his family!