Franklin Square 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. In the lead off bout of the evening, Franklin Square resident, Luis “Wild Card” Batres, an Audit Associate at PricewaterhouseCooper LLP, in Melville entered the ring to face, Ian “Lucky Charms” Murphy. Franklin Square’s Filippo “Triple F” Impennato, Director of Business Development at Fat Guy Media Group in Mineola faced Matthew “El Fuego” Galiano and Michael “The Litigator” Romano, a Franklin Square resident and Attorney at Romano & Associates in Garden City, also met his opponent. All the boxers landed solid hits in their three one-minute rounds, impressing all the judges.

“My opponent was the perfect match for me. From sparing with him at the gym, I knew Ian “Lucky Charms” Murphy would be a formidable challenger. The entire experience opened my eyes to the importance of going the extra mile to give back to my community,” emphasized Batres.

“It was great to box against my adversary. Having a friend as my opponent not only pushed me to train harder but made this experience more than anything I could imagine,” said Impennato.

“To be honored with boxing in the final match of the night was such an honor. I got to step into the ring and actually show my family, friends and clients that I am ready to do what it takes for them and this was the perfect way to show them this by giving back to the community at the same time,” said Romano.

Over 1,200 attendees packed the ballroom at the Long Island Hilton and were treated to food and beverage 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. Batres, Impennato and Romano, along with the other 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 charity event like this anywhere else in the country where local business professionals raise money for charity and step into the boxing ring in front of a large crowd of friends and supporters.

Proceeds from LI Fight for Charity will be donated to The Long Island Community Chest, The Genesis School and the National Foundation for Human Potential. When the final tally is complete the Long Island Fight for Charity will be over its $1 million goal.

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 more information about this event and to volunteer as a boxer for the 13th Long Island Fight for Charity taking place on November 20, 2016 visit www.lifightforcharity.org

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Photo Captions:
Luis “Wild Card” Batres of Franklin Square (left) faces off Ian “Lucky Charms” Murphy (right).

Filippo “Triple F” Impennato of Franklin Square (right) faces off Mathew “El Fuego” Galiano (left).

Michael “The Litigator” Romano of Franklin Square (right) faces off his opponent.