“Battle of the Badges” Fight at Morongo

Sold-Out Charity Event Will Benefit Cops 4 Kids 

Some fight crime for a living, some have built a career fighting fires. Now they will get the chance to fight each other–all in the name of a worthwhile children’s charity program, Cops 4 Kids & Communities. The police officers and firemen will be featured in Saturday night’s XII “Battle of the Badges” Police and Fire Boxing Tournament at Morongo Casino and Resort in Cabazon, California.

The desert area’s finest officers, firefighters, deputies, sheriffs, and paramedics will all be squaring off–against each other–in 14 scheduled fights of exciting amateur action. The sold-out showdown also offers three female bouts on the card.

While on patrol, the brave “men in blue” face violence daily on the streets; the courageous firemen never turn away from any challenge. Now both are in a friendly battle, pitted against fellow officers and firefighters. And besides benefiting the kids’ charity, the priceless reward of victory? Bragging rights, of course!

Many fighters at last night’s official weigh-in, held in the VIBE nightclub at Morongo, joked that at this fight event, “We can’t get arrested for beating up a cop!”

For a few of these “weekend warriors,” it will be their very first time in the ring, while several other fighters can list successful Golden Gloves experience on their records. At any skill level, all are lending support for a good cause.

Oliver Aleta is one newbie in the ring. “I’m training hard, I’ve changed my diet and lost 15 pounds,” he says. The California Dept. of Corrections employee was enlisted by co-worker Frank Martinez. “I messed around and fought when I was a kid, but I’ve never boxed like this before,” admitted Aleta, who has been training for a couple of months with former amateur boxer Gil “Candyman” Nieves. All three are looking forward to the charity fight night. Team Aleta will have a number of supporters cheering him on–over 75 T-shirts have been sold to support the “rookie’s” debut.

While signing up for the charity fundraiser, all the boxers got the opportunity to add their new “fighting” nicknames on the roster. Scanning the list, I see that “The Aztec Warrior,” “The Hammer,” “The Tower,” “The Terminator,” “The Pitbull,” and “The Mauler” will all be lacing up on Saturday night. I also notice some of the fighters’ senses of humor: “The Chili Dog,” “The White Bean,” and “The Twin Cannons” are sluggers you will see in the evening’s fearless lineup.

At the weigh-in, Executive Director Jeff Penn introduced the Cops 4 Kids Board of Directors saying, “Our main objective is to keep the kids off the streets. We want you to see why we’re working hard to raise money.” The former football player and former police officer then showed a film of the Real Deal Boxing Club, the Playmakers Football Camp, and last year’s fight night. Their successful boxing show has completely sold out every year and this year’s competition will be no different, another sold-out event.

Over 1,200 ticket holders will get to witness the Memorial Day weekend matchup that benefits the non-profit organization, a fact not lost on the participants. During the weigh-in, the crowd encouraged some light trash talking, but real smack downs were few and far between. Most of the combatants shook hands and laughed while attempting to hold the “stare down” pose with a straight face. But the majority of the competitors ended up bursting into laughter while trying to glare and scowl at their opponents. After having their weights recorded, each fighter was then given the microphone to introduce themselves and to state their roles in law enforcement.

A duo that caught my eye were Brandi “The Knockout” Wine and Adam “The Crusher” Colebrook, who will both be fighting on the card. The pretty 5’10” Brandi looks like a bikini model but shows me her “game face” while weighing in. She will go toe-to-toe against Victoria Irvin. Brandi’s boyfriend “The Crusher” will be facing Bob “The Bomb” Epps in the Main Event. This rematch has been playfully touted as a “grudge match” between the two heavyweights. Colebrook tells me, “Yeah, Bob’s a great guy. But it is a grudge match and he’s gonna lose!”

Emcees Mark Blanton and Ken Southern will keep the fans entertained in between bouts. A stand-up comedian in the making, Blanton had the weigh-in crowd chuckling at all of his remarks and wisecracks.

Special invited guests planning to attend the show include Rodolfo Gonzalez, Danny “Little Red” Lopez, Shawn Estrada, Alfonso Gomez and Oscar “The Boxer” Muñiz. Cops 4 Kids Board Member Armando Muñiz, former Olympian and current World Boxing Hall of Fame President, will be presenting the “Bout of the Night” award.

And there will also be one hundred very special “VIP” guests in the crowd: The children who benefit from the charity.

Cops 4 Kid’s Chairman Richard Perry (who fought in their 2004 show) told me that the kids will be in the audience. “Cops 4 Kids was founded to recognize and address the problems of at-risk youth. The kids build relationships with the officers. We get them to meet with the police officers before they get into trouble!” says Perry, who handles sales at Toyota of the Desert. “The officers are positive role models, a positive influence for the kids. They become friends and mentors to the kids.

“All the proceeds–100%–go to our gym for at-risk kids. We offer boxing, dancing lessons, and music lessons, and it’s all free for the children. We get sponsorship support, but this boxing show is our biggest fundraiser.”

Perry, father of seven, has dedicated his time to the charity for several years now. He tells me about a chance meeting with Jeff Penn that led to Cops 4 Kids. “A few years ago, I was in my convertible and got robbed in a parking lot. A guy walked near me, stole some stuff out of my car and started running away with it!” Adding with a laugh, “I ran after him and started fighting the guy. And I got my stuff back! Jeff, who was an officer at the time, came to help out. He asked me about my boxing and later we began working together with Cops 4 Kids.” Perry adds that he appreciates all the volunteers who are taking part in the event. “The doctors, referees, judges…All have donated their time,” he explains.

The weigh-in was very organized due to their large group of volunteers helping out. Board Member Paul Ritchie told me, “I like helping the kids. Everyone here donates their time!” He was busy presenting the “Battle of the Badges 2009” fighters with a thank you gift from the Cops 4 Kids–limited-edition T-shirts and hats with a clever logo intertwining handcuffs, fireman ax and boxing gloves. His wife, Debbie Ritchie, also enjoys volunteering at the event. While observing the trash talking attempts she says, “The cops and the firemen have a little competition going on for bragging rights. It’s always a fun time. Now we may have two shows a year; the next one might take place in October.”

That means at least five months of bragging rights for the policemen and firemen whose hands will be raised in victory.

So in the “Policemen vs. Firemen Ultimate Battle”: Who wins? It’s a unanimous decision–The at-risk children with Cops 4 Kids are the real winners!

Good luck to all the fighters at this year’s “Battle of the Badges”!

Morongo Casino and Resort
“Battle of the Badges”
Saturday, May 23
Doors open at 5:00 PM
First bout at 6:00 PM
Please note: *The event is SOLD OUT*
For further information: 951-755-5391 Morongo Box Office

For more information on Cops 4 Kids: www.c4kc.org/XII-intro.html