Friday Night at the Fights
Submitted by Barratt Jaruzelski
The College Men’s Club of Westfield (CMC) hosted a record-setting “Friday Night at the Fights” fundraiser to benefit the CMC Scholarship Fund. On Friday, February 2nd, a sold-out crowd of more than 245 attendees assembled at the Kenilworth Veterans Center to watch 10 amateur bouts refereed by officials of the New Jersey Association of USA Boxing. The evening generated gross proceeds of more than $68,500 for the club’s scholarship fund from ticket sales, a 50/50 raffle, and sponsorships by three local businesses. The 2024 event’s results exceeded all previous years’ gross and net totals.
CMC President Dave Germond shared that “We are energized watching these talented young athletes demonstrate their skill and training for such a worthy cause as expanding access to higher education”. Germond further noted that “the CMC is extremely grateful to our Platinum Sponsor, Ray Catena Mercedes Benz of Union and our two Gold Sponsors, Rumble Boxing of Westfield and The Isoldi Collection, for their generous support of this annual event, the CMC’s largest fundraiser.”
This year’s event marked the culmination of Shawn Hanna’s 15-year tenure as CMC Boxing Chairman. Hanna has led the event since 2009 and will hand over the reins to fellow CMC Trustee Pat Quay. “Shawn has done a tremendous job in elevating this event to our premier fundraiser and quite frankly, created a “must-attend” evening for sports fans across Union County. Pat has a tremendous foundation on which to build thanks to Shawn’s dedicated efforts”, Germond added.
The evening showcased 10 action-packed bouts spanning the 132-pound to 180-pound weight classes. Boxers assembled at the Kenilworth VFW representing gyms from across the Tri-State Area, including Wolf’s Den Boxing, Enforcer Fitness, Semper Fit Boxing Club, Park Elite, Perth Amboy PAL, True Warriors Boxing, Lyndhurst Boxing Gym, and Dover Boxing/Parsippany PAL.
In a surprise appearance, professional boxing champion and NJ native, Bobby Czyz, joined the event to cheer on the competitors. Czyz posted an impressive 44-8 career record and held the IBF light heavyweight title, the WBA cruiserweight title, and in the final bout of his distinguished career, fought Olympic Medalist and professional boxing legend Evander Holyfield.
The College Men’s Club of Westfield was founded in 1922 and over the past century has helped hundreds of Westfield young men by providing college tuition assistance and funding standardized test preparatory courses. Since its founding, the CMC has raised and distributed over $1.3 million in higher education assistance to young men of the Westfield community to attend over 130 different institutions of higher learning. In 2023 the CMC awarded $74,500 in four-year scholarships and one-time grants to Westfield High School graduating seniors.
Scholarship applications are currently available online at the CMC’s website and are evaluated by a committee of CMC Trustees in late Spring. This year’s application deadline is May 1st, 2024. Funds for scholarships are generated from fund raising events like the annual Boxing Night, donations, membership dues, endowment investment income, and legacy bequests.
To learn more about the College Men’s Club of Westfield, please go to cmcwestfield.org.
Courtesy photos
