A channel glove story

The channel proved last week that it is still fighting fit in the face of a downturn, judging by the performances at the CRN Fight Night 2009. Sara Yirrell looks back over the bouts and excitement of the night

Out for the count: Two combatants at CRN Fight Night

A capacity crowd of 450 packed out The Brewery in Chiswell Street, London to witness 18 fighters from the worlds of resellers, distributors and vendors battle it out in the ring in the name of charity.

The evening got off to a prize-winning start with guests greeted upon arrival with a sea of balloons, courtesy of headline sponsor Trend Micro. Each person then burst the balloon to see if they had won a prize, with 10 winners receiving a bottle of champagne.

The evening kicked straight off with the first bout between Mark ‘Enforcer’ Forster from Comms-care and Phil ‘Baby’ Bell from Westcoast. After a closely contested fight, the Enforcer walked off with the winner’s trophy.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” he said the morning after the night before. “It was such a buzz and a really amazing experience. I had my colleagues behind me and it has really sent big ripples through the team. It was definitely worth all the training and made me feel like a celebrity for the night. I would recommend it to anyone.”

Going ballistic
The second bout of the night was between Matt ‘Ballistic’ Batty from Kelway, and Keith ‘The Hunter’ Poyser from Sun Microsystems. This time out The Hunter scooped the prize.

“It was a great evening,” said Poyser. “The atmosphere was superb. I had four tables of supporters and it was great having the backup on the night. I was getting quite nervous beforehand, so was glad I was the second fight on. I wish I could have been a little more technical in my fighting, but it was a good fight and nobody got hurt.”

Poyser said he would continue with the boxing training.

“Cityboxer had some great guys and it was also good to meet the other competitors,” he said. “We all had a great time.”

The last bout before dinner was between Jon ‘Hurricane’ Hook from DWA Media and Matt ‘Pickelator’ Pickles from Toshiba. Hurricane lived up to his name and the fight was actually stopped in the second round.

“It was a great experience,” said Hook. “My trainer has been great and I got on with the other lads really well. It was fantastic from a networking perspective and all the clients and partners we brought had a cracking evening.”

Hook had some serious advice for anyone considering entering the event next year.
“I would 100 per cent recommend it to anybody,” he said. “But while it is fun, you must take it seriously and realise that it is physically challenging. It is all too easy to get starry eyed at the beginning, but never forget the work that you need to put into it.”

He added that he would continue with the boxing in some shape or form.

“I definitely have caught the boxing bug and after taking a
couple of weeks off, I’m looking forward to getting back into it again,” he said.

Once guests had finished dinner, the boxing kicked off again with Jonny ‘One Punch’ Evans from Logicalis and Chris ‘Kicker’ Walsh from Arc Technology. Both boxers gave their all, but Kicker managed to secure the win.

“I absolutely loved it,” he said. “I have played rugby in front of a crowd of thousands, but Fight Night was more intense than anything I have ever done. It made it all the sweeter that I won, but I really enjoyed the experience.”

Walsh said he managed to escape any injury in the ring, but the alcohol consumed after the event did do some damage.

“I would recommend Fight Night to anyone,” he added. “I’m going to carry on training because I have gained a real appreciation for the sport.”

Midnight cowboy
Following swiftly after was bout number five between Edward ‘Midnighter’ Roberts ­ who had kindly stepped in at the last minute due to an injury-related dropout ­ and Bobby ‘Gypsy King’ Cole.

This was definitely the most closely contested fight of the night, and the referee was forced to declare it a draw after the three rounds.

Proudly sporting a black eye the next morning, Cole said: “If you don’t come away with a black eye then you can’t call it boxing.

“Seriously, the referee made the decision and we both put so much into the fight, it was a fair call. We managed to provide some good boxing for the spectators.

“The experience was a whirlwind of emotions and large doses of adrenaline. I would recommend it to anyone, but you have to have a lot of dedication. It is something I will take with me for ever.”

Cole added that he would be continuing with his fighting training, but was going to enjoy a few days off for some ‘R&R’.

The sixth bout between John ‘Hooker’ Haw and Ian ‘Power’ Paul was a closely fought battle, but the Hooker won through.

“I have been training since October for this, so it was fantastic to win,” he said. “It was a really good fight and the adrenaline was really flowing. I would say it was a life-changing experience in some respects.”

Haw said he would be keeping up the boxing, and would also be encouraging his colleagues to enter next year’s event.

Come on feel the noise
The final three bouts were possibly the noisiest of the evening, as the crowd were whipped into a frenzy.

Matt ‘Cannon’ Ball from CAE Technology beat Matt ‘Hammer’ Skinner from Hammer in two rounds, followed by a very brave performance by Eset’s Quinton ‘Android’ Watts against CityBoxer’s Plin the Plunderer. Despite the crowd getting right behind Watts, the referee declared Plin the victor.

The final bout was between Pete ‘Rocket’ Ryan from Griffin Internet and ‘Dangerous’ Doug Saunders from Amplicon. Another bravely fought and bloody bout which saw Saunders emerge the winner by a large margin.

Summing up the evening, Anthony O’Mara, EMEA vice president at Trend Micro, said: “We were delighted to be part of CRN Fight Night, and being able to share part of the success we are having in the UK by giving something back to the channel through CRN. A great evening was had by all.”