This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

Laurette "The Warrior" Holst of Lindenhurst Puts on Gloves for Record Breaking Fight for Charity Event

Lindenhurst's Laurette Holst is among volunteer boxers to recently participate in 12th Long Island Fight for Charity.

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 11th bout of the evening, Laurette “The Warrior” Holst of Lindenhurst and General Manager at UFC Gym in Huntington entered the ring to face her opponent, Lisa “The Diva” Mongelluzzo of Huntington and a Retail Manager at Victoria Secret in Huntington. Both boxers landed solid hits on each other in the three one-minute rounds, impressing all the judges.

“I’ve known Lisa for a long time and we have trained, spared and fundraised together. Now our friendship will benefit the local charities that are being supported,” said Holst.

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. Holst and 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.

Find out what's happening in Lindenhurstfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

“We have a friendly rivalry from training and sparing in the ring just to go in there on fight night and let it all out for the last time was a great culmination of the experience as volunteer boxers for this worthwhile charity,” said Mongelluzzo.

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.

Find out what's happening in Lindenhurstfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

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

# # #

Photo Caption:
Pictured is Laurette “The Warrior” Holst of Lindenhurst (left) faces off with Lisa “The Diva” Mongelluzzo (right).

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?