Photo: NYPD Boxing
Oct. 23, 2019. By Shane O’Brien
Over 1,500 people are expected to attend the NYPD’s annual Halloween-themed boxing event in Resorts World Casino New York City in Jamaica Thursday.
The NYPD Halloween Boxing Smoker is returning to Resorts World at 110-00 Rockaway Blvd. for the third successive year on Thursday, Oct. 24 and will run from 6:30 p.m. until 2 a.m.
The event is being held to raise funds for the NYC Cops and Kids Boxing Program which provides free boxing lessons/facilities to police officers and children in disadvantaged areas. All of the night’s proceeds will go toward the program.
There will be 15 fights or “smokers” on the fight card. A smoker is a slightly different style of boxing match between police officers, consisting of three one-minute rounds. NYPD Lieutenant Dave Siev – one of the event’s organizers – said that the fights were meant to be fun and entertaining.
“They’re more like fist fights than actual boxing matches,” Siev said.
The 15-fight card will feature four Queens police officers, including two from the 103rd Precinct in Jamaica who will face off in a grudge match. Grudge matches are typical of the event and cops settle any disputes they have in the ring.
Cops from the 110th Precinct in Corona and from the 113th Precinct in South Jamaica will also face off in the ring this Thursday, although the fight is not a grudge match, according to Siev.
Siev operates all three NYC Cops and Kids boxing gyms – one in Brooklyn and two in Staten Island. He has taken part in the event since 1996 and this will be his last year as an active police officer.
He said that the program helps kids in disadvantaged areas get involved in a sport without having to incur any costs.
“It’s giving something to kids who have not too much. We operate in poor neighborhoods and it’s free for kids and it’s free for cops,” Siev said.
The fight-night is Halloween themed, so attendees are encouraged to don costumes for the night. There will be prizes for best dressed on the evening, including $200 for the best dressed male and female.
The event has been run at Resorts World Casino since 2017 and the casino’s Director of Public Relations Michelle Stoddart said that programs like NYC Cops and Kids Boxing provide guidance and goodwill to New York youths.
“We are grateful that NYPD Boxing has continued their relationship with us and chose us to partner with them,” Stoddart said. “RWNYC recognizes the strides and progress that NYPD Boxing has made to implement camaraderie with NYPD officers and New York City youths.”
For tickets and more information, click here
For background on NYPD Boxing as well as the NYC Cops and Kids Boxing Program see video below.
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2 Comments
They’re working so hard they need some fun. Is it good for all of us
Sounds like a fun event