Story & Photography by Chelsea-Catherine Croom

On Saturday, January 5, the Carl Perkins Civic Center was packed full of West Tennesseans in beautiful gowns and suits for an evening benefitting Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. The third annual Black Tie & Boxing presented by Express Employment Professionals was as entertaining as it was beautiful. The main attraction of the event was a series of kickboxing/MMA matches taking place in a MMA cage in the middle of the room where guests got an up-close look at all of the excitement. The matches, in combination with the elegance of a black-tie dinner provided by 731 Catering, created a unique event attendees look forward to after the holiday season. This year’s event brought in over $117,000 for the fight against Type One Diabetes.

For more information about the event or to learn more about JDRF, please visit @blacktieandboxing on Facebook.