Black Tie & Boxing

Story Submitted, Photography by Rosy Roberts & Becca Rogers

The inaugural Black Tie and Boxing benefitting JDRF and the fight against Type 1 Diabetes (T1D) took place on Saturday, January 7 at the Carl Perkins Civic Center. The event, featuring amateur Kickboxing and MMA fights in a formal setting, was the vision of Ronnie and Susan Morris who attended a similar event in Fort Worth, Texas.

Guests in evening attire enjoyed a cocktail hour sponsored by Central Distributors, Century Farm Winery, and Sam Bryant Distillery. Black Tie and Boxing uniquely combined a black tie dinner, provided by Coyote Blues, with a series of 10 live, sanctioned Kickboxing and MMA matches.  Between rounds attendees had the opportunity to bid on specialty drinks designed by Rock’n Dough. The highly anticipated main event of the evening was a female fight, which did not disappoint.

Event chair, Rachel Ryan, said the evening was a tremendous way to bring together sport and community, while raising awareness for Type 1 Diabetes. JDRF supports more T1D research than any other organization in the world. Currently around 1.25 million individuals have T1D. Unlike Type 2 Diabetes, the initial onset of Type 1 is not linked to lifestyle. The pancreas, for reasons still not fully understood, simply stops working.

The event brought in more than $45,000. Organizers say Black Tie and Boxing will be back in 2018, so mark your calendars for January 6.