Police and Sheriffs Battle THIS Friday!
The “Chatter Box” would like to spread the word about a charity boxing event taking place THIS Friday night, November 30 at the Quiet Cannon in Montebello.
Yes, fists will fly and it’s all in the name of a great cause in the 18th Annual “Fight for Life” benefiting the City of Hope organization, which strives to offer 
better treatments for cancer and other life-threatening diseases, and has helped hundreds of thousands of patients through the years.
Fight fans can give back to the community by supporting this holiday bash featuring SoCal’s finest. The card pits the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) against the Los Angeles Sheriffs Office (LASO) for bragging rights in the ring–and for this special cause in their “Battle to Beat Cancer.”
The bouts will kickoff a season of giving while the officers put down their shield and pick up the boxing gloves. Though they may be “amateurs” inside the ropes, each fighter will be giving it their all to see their hand raised in victory.
I’ve attended several of their shows and I have to say some of the best action takes place between these weekend warriors. There is a healthy dose of rivalry coming out of each corner and the crowd is always on their feet cheering on their favorite heroes.
There are always surprise guests in the crowd including city officials, former boxing champs and celebrity guests in attendance.
Officer George Lopez has fought in previous shows and is also an Olympian. Lopez represented Argentina in the 1988 Olympic Games. He enjoys seeing the “Blue Crew” glove up in what is always a highly-anticipated night. The heavy hitter is one of the show’s organizers who volunteer their time in putting together this charity bash. Up until last week, Lopez was going to be the main event of the evening until his fight fell through.
“A lot of the organizers are former fighters in past events and now they help organize and also coach the team,” George tells me. “We have 10 fights scheduled for Friday with one female bout. And at the end of the matches we’ll award ‘Fight of the Night’ honors.”
“What about the rivalry between the forces?” I ask.
“Well, it’s kind of like USC and UCLA,” the Olympic boxer and working officer laughs. “There’s always a ‘friendly rivalry’ between the two law enforcement agencies. But…There is that prize–and you do want to win!”
And for the officers and sheriffs squaring off Friday night, it will be a win-win for the boxers giving their time, for the fans who come out to support and for the show runners aiming to raise funds for the City of Hope.
Southwest LAPD’s John Negrete is another dedicated individual who gives his time to make the “Fight for Life” card the best it can be. On the force for 13 years, Officer Negrete has boxed in nine shows. This Friday will mark his very first time as one of the team’s coaches.
Negrete is thankful for all the assistance the teams have received from their 
fellow officers, family and friends. He also gives a shout out to some of the sluggers in past “Fight for Life” cards that continue to help organize and train the men and women. “Besides myself, we have Rudy Barragan, Robert Morales, Frank Diaz and Quran McMullan training our LAPD team. We also have one female officer, Shannan Lopez, fighting Friday–her second fight.”
His passion for the charity affair is evident. “One of the reasons we do this show is because as police officers we need to stay in shape, but we also want to show people that there’s a lot more to us than responding to 911 calls,” John mentions during our chat today. “It’s our way to give back to the community through these charity events. We also want to reach out to mainstream fans and pro boxing champs to come and support the fighters too!”
“Last time we had Amir Khan as one of our trophy presenters,” recalls Negrete. “So I encourage other professional fighters to join us Friday night. There will be a lot of big boxing fans there and it will be a great night helping the City of Hope.”
The weigh-in will take place Thursday morning at the City of Hope Hospital in Duarte. John says the fighters and trainers will tour the hospital, the City of Hope Library and also present Christmas gifts during the weigh-in and visit.
Join the power punchers and peace officers this Friday as the lace up to help others.
It will be a knockout night of action in the battle to beat cancer!
“Fight for Life”
Friday, November 30
Quiet Cannon
Doors Open 5:30 PM/ First Bout Approximately 7 PM
General Admission 25.00
Tickets: 213-251-4554
(All Bouts Scheduled to Change)
Photo by Michele Chong