Dix Hills Residents Put On Gloves for Record Breaking Fight for Charity Event

December 9, 2015 - Long Island Fight for Charity, one of Long Island’s most anticipated charity events, hosted its 12th Main Event on November 23 at the Hilton Long Island in Melville. Months of training came to an end when 26 business professionals turned volunteer boxers put their gloves on and stepped into the ring. Rick “Union Made” Iaccarino of Dix Hills and Founding and Managing Partner of Barnes Iaccarino & Shepherd LLP entered the ring in the seventh bout of the evening to face his opponent, Andrew “Timeless Classic” Nerone of Syosset. In the tenth bout of the evening, Craig “The Machine” Simon of Dix Hills and a Senior Managing Director at Crystal & Company in New York entered the ring to face his opponent, Michael “Machine Gun Mike” Graziose of Locust Valley.

All boxers landed solid punches on each other in the three one-minute rounds, impressing all the judges.

“The entire Fight for Charity experience was exhilarating to me on multiple levels. I am so proud to have broken the record for the most funds raised by a single boxer. All of these charities need support to continue their mission and for my fellow boxers and I doing what we can is truly inspiring. To have one of the charities that is close to my heart benefitting as well, it was a simple decision for me to join in this year’s Main Event,” said Iaccarino.

“Though my opponent and I are co-champions the real winners here are the charities. Months of hard work in and out of the ring have all lead up to this once in a lifetime experience for me,” said Simon.

Over 1,200 attendees packed the ballroom at the Long Island Hilton and were treated to food and beverages donated by over 35 local restaurants and wine and spirits companies. Over several months the boxers raised hundreds of thousands of dollars accomplishing their goals by hosting individual and team fund raisers across Long Island. All the boxers trained for months at least twice a week to start, ramping up to almost every day in the final weeks leading up to the Main Event. In the process of training for their bouts, the boxers improved their physical stamina and, in total, lost hundreds of pounds. There is no other event in the country where local business professionals raise funds for charities by stepping into the boxing ring to face an opponent in front of a crowd of friends and supporters.

Long Island Fight for Charity will donate funds to The Long Island Community Chest, The Genesis School, the National Foundation for Human Potential and other local charities at a special check presentation event in 2016. When the final tally is complete, Long Island Fight for Charity donations to local charities will exceed $1 million.

To see great photos go to https://flic.kr/s/aHskq7Zhcd

Local businesses and professional firms sponsoring this year’s 12th Main Event include: Barnes Iaccarino & Shepherd LLP; Alure Home Improvements; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Fat Guy Media; Farrell Fritz; Saxena White P.A.; Local 1298; AmWins Brokerage of NJ; Crystal & Company; RedTree Radiology; Local 60; Local342, UMD, ILA; Carter, Deluca, Farrell & Schmidt LLP; Excavators Union Local 731; St. Hugh-St. Elizabeth Baseball League, Inc.; Local 223; Jonis Realty; UPS Foundation Inc.; Francesco’s Bakery and L. Graziose Plumbing & Heating.

For information about Long Island Fight for Charity or to volunteer as a boxer for the 13th Long Island Fight for Charity to be held on Monday, November 20, 2016 visit www.lifightforcharity.org

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PHOTO CAPTIONS:
Pictured from right to left: Rick “Union Made” Iaccarino of Dix Hills faces off Andrew “Timeless Classic” Nerone

Pictured from right to left: Craig “The Machine” Simon of Dix Hills faces off Michael “Machine Gun Mike” Graziose