'A great night': Winnipeggers fighting against homelessness at annual boxing event

An upcoming event in Winnipeg is giving a sucker punch to hunger and homelessness.

It’s called the ‘Fight for Charity,’ and it’s giving a group of amateur boxers a chance to get in the ring in front of a live audience in order to raise money for Siloam Mission.

This year’s event involves 24 Manitobans taking part in three months of training to prepare for the big day.

“It’s local Manitobans who are putting three months aside from their daily lives to train for this event,” said Daniel Strang, executive director of the event.

“The aim is raising money for really worthy Manitoba charities.”

Attendees of ‘Fight for Charity’ will get to watch 12 boxing matches, participate in casino games, and listen to live music.

Strang said that 1,300 people are coming to the event, which has over 70 corporate sponsors.

“The fighters themselves always bring out lots of their family and friends and it’s a really great atmosphere for that,” he said.

“Even though it’s boxing, it’s everybody cheering for everybody. It’s a great night.”

So far, the fighters have raised just under $60,000 for Siloam Mission. The goal is to raise $100,000.

“This is going to help us kick-start developing more social housing with adequate support,” said Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud, CEO of Siloam Mission.

“We already have 138 units, but we know that we need more. This is going to help us start that process to get there.”

‘Fight for Charity’ is set to take place on April 27 at the RBC Convention Centre. More information on the event, including how you can support it, can be found online.

- With files from CTV’s Rachel Lagace.