The General Manager of the Winchester Royal Hotel will be taking to the boxing ring later this month, all in the name of charity.
Louis Rigney will put on the gloves and feature in a three-round boxing match to raise money for Julia’s House Children’s Hospice – an award-winning children’s hospice charity dedicated to bringing comfort and care to families across Dorset and Wiltshire.
Fighting against a similarly matched opponent on the night – both in terms of weight, size and experience – Louis will be hoping that weeks of training will pay off when he’s face-to-face with his rival at the WBC Cares Charity Fight Night on Saturday 22 July at the O2 Academy in Bournemouth.
Having spent 10 weeks preparing for the bout at Steve Bendall’s Gym in Poole as part of WBC Cares White Collar Boxing Academy Poole, Louis is eager to put on a good show, but ultimately wants to raise as much money for charity as possible.
He said: “I’ve put so much effort into the training for this event, which has involved getting myself fit and working with a team of fantastic trainers and fellow contenders – all of us wanting to challenge ourselves by stepping outside of our comfort zones and into the ring.
“Obviously, it would be great to win, whoever I’m paired against, but ultimately that’s not the reason I’m ‘putting my head on the block’, so to speak. This is about raising as much money as possible for a good cause. Julia’s House is a fantastic charity that does some incredible work in the Dorset and Wiltshire areas.
“Nobody wants to ever be in the position that these kids and their families are in, but Julia’s House do really positive work in the most difficult of situations and deserve every penny that can be raised.”
Donations can be made via Louis’ JustGiving page. Any support on the night would also be gratefully appreciated and tickets are available from just £20. Louis can be contacted on 01962 840840 or 07788 545733 for further details.