Fight night

[Team Revell 0]

Going to this tonight…. Should be sick.

 

New York's Finest Train To Take On L.A. Cops In Boxing Match

June 06, 2006

 

NYPD's finest are stepping into the ring Thursday night, taking on fellow police officers from the West Coast to raise money for families of victims of September 11th. NY1's Roger Clark filed the following report.

 

Before Mike Castillo even got out of the police academy, he was recruited to be a member of the NYPD Boxing Team.

 

"When we had combat skills training, they said 'hey, you should be on the team' and I said, 'okay,'" he says.

 

Now he and the rest of the twenty member team are training for a big match-up Thursday Night against the Los Angeles Police and Sheriff's Department teams.

 

"It's tough out there for LAPD and tough in New York also, so it should be a good match," says Sgt. William Hamilton.

 

"I'm looking forward to it, all hyped up. You know, getting ready, training for a couple of weeks, so you know I am ready, ready for LA," says Greg Waithe.

 

The match, called 'Heroes and Legends... A Night at the Fights,' benefits Tuesday's Children, an organization that helps children and families who lost loved ones on September 11th. Making sure the team is ready is head coach, Lieutenant Dave Siev.

 

"They stay in better shape than us, we're a little smarter than they are though," he says.

 

And by appearances, tougher too, working out in the in the gritty Starrett City Boxing Club, right out of a Rocky movie. Working some of the city's meanest streets, you would think these guys would want to do something more relaxing in their spare time. But they say the sweet science has a lot of positives.

 

"The workout, the workout and the drills, very intense," says Val Rodriguez.

 

This event is all for charity, and the NYPD guys say after the fight, they take the LAPD guys out for a night on the town in New York. But when it comes down to it, and you ask the NYPD guys for a prediction, they say they are going to win.

 

"I think I am going to win by knockout, third round," says Julio Orozco.

 

"I predict we are going to win every fight, that's what I predict," says John Parente. "I don't think one of us is going to lose."

 

Find out Thursday night at the Sheraton Hotel and Towers on Seventh Avenue and 53rd Street in Manhattan.The match starts at 6 p.m. For information on tickets, call (212) 319-3988 or go to www.tuesdayschildren.org.

[Electric Mayhem 35]

Hopefully once the gloves are off and the event is over, they all get along and have fun together. If animosity spills over from what happens in the ring, it could spell disaster for the event.