COLUMBUS — “Promoting with a purpose.”
That’s the motto of Columbus boxing promoter Mark Sanderson, who organized the Friendly City Fights for Saturday at the Trotter Convention Center in downtown Columbus. The event will host 12 amateur and professional matches in boxing and kickboxing, headlined by bouts featuring Columbus natives Zion Reed and Quantae “Hurricane Q” Mitchell.
The hope is to make it an annual event, one which honors the fighting sport heritage of Columbus and the Golden Triangle as well as provide support for local gyms, with funds going toward Sanderson’s mission to assist young fighters looking for a place to train and grow in Columbus.
“My goal in Sand Promotions is to bring people from different walks of life together to help see that our local youth and young adults have an outlet to assist them in finding their purpose and reaching their goals through hard work and positive reinforcement,” Sanderson said. “Even though boxing and martial arts can be violent, students can work towards their full potential while maintaining mutual respect with fellow competitors.”
Sanderson teamed up with Taking Care of Business Fights to promote the event, looking to commemorate boxing legends from the area during Black History Month, namely Henry Armstrong. The legendary Columbus native became one of the dominant fighters of the 1930’s and 40’s, but dedicated his life beyond boxing to service.
“He ended his career and became a minister and dedicated himself to helping YMCAs and Boys and Girls Clubs,” Sanderson said of Armstrong. “He was in movies and everything in the 40’s, but he got out of it and started helping people. He spent the last 40 years of his life giving to people. People like that need to be remembered.”
Sanderson has taken great inspiration from Armstrong’s life after boxing, and has found his own purpose in mentoring and organizing for young fighters in Columbus. Friendly City Fights is one way of promoting Armstrong’s legacy as well as furthering the work Sanderson and gym owners are doing to help kids further their passion.
“We want to commemorate him,” Sanderson said, “and let people know we have great gyms around here whether they want to do karate, MMA, boxing or whatever else.”
Trotter Center doors open at 5 p.m. on Saturday, with the first fight to begin at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are cash only at the door, but can be purchased in advance online at https://www.fightertix.com/tcb.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 44 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
