‘Fight For Charity’ Boxers Matched Up
/By Jano Tantongco
jtantongco@longislandergroup.com
Boxers for the the 13th annual Long Island Fight For Charity were matched with their opponents at a reception event hosted in Plainview Tuesday night.
Around 425 guests attended the event at Carlyle at the Palace. The upcoming Fight For Charity event will see 18 boxers, many of whom are prominent and business and philanthropic figures across Long Island, square off in nine matches.
The charity event is run by Long Island Community Chest, a nonprofit which helps provide financial support for less fortunate individuals who have “exhausted all traditional means of help.”
Community Chest was founded by Jamie Austin and Matt Silver in 2000, and so far it has distributed over $1 million to various charities across Long Island, including Genesis School, Family Residence and Essential Enterprises.
“We’ve been doing this for 13 years now, and it amazes me each year how business people step forward and sign up to participate,” said Austin, who is also the business manager of Long Islander News.
Four of boxers set to enter the ring at the Long Island Hilton in Melville on Nov. 21 hail from, or work in the Town of Huntington.
Ron “The Mazzacutioner” Mazza is a chiropractor from Northport who fought in last year’s event as well. In the field for 33 years, he is the owner and director of ChiroSport Rehabilitation Centers and practices at its Westbury location. There are two other locations, one in Farmingdale and another in Astoria, Queens.
“This is just one of the annual things that I do. Givers gain and always give back,” he said.
Tom “The Schorr Thing” Schorr, of South Huntington, serves as the project manager at W.J. Northridge Construction Corporation in Hauppauge. He first learned of the charity event from the former Huntington UFC gym.
“I thought it’d be a great way to get in shape and also give to a charity, so it’s a win-win.”
Additionally, he’s also involved with charity work for the Lupus Foundation.
Elena “Black Widow” Lardizzone also heard about the event through the former UFC gym.
She’s a registered nurse at Winthrop University Hospital, specializing in direct patient care in the emergency room as well as chemotherapy. She wants to give a “fighting chance” for the less fortunate.
“We train hard. We go hard or go home,” Lardizzone, of Huntington Station, said.
Dave “The Demolisher” Compitello is from West Islip and works in Huntington as a manager for Servpro, which restores homes and businesses after fire, water and mold damage.
This is also his first time in the charity event, but has always been an athlete.
“I grew up an athlete training for myself and to hopefully improve my team, but now, I’m training and fighting for something bigger than myself, and hopefully improving someone else’s life,” he stated.
Visit Lifightforcharity.org for tickets and more information.