Families and boxing enthusiasts filled the vacated AutoZone building on H Street NE on Saturday, May 24 to attend the Heart of the City Championship Fight Night.
The event was presented by Heart of the City Candles and Build Our City DC in partnership with 2 Fly Boxing Gym, and included 19 exciting amateur boxing matches sanctioned by USA Boxing, with all proceeds going towards local fighters attending the Junior Olympics in Las Vegas during June.
After a long career in boxing, Hall of Fame Announcer Henry “Discombobulating” Jones was inspired by the fight night.
“This was an incredible night,” he told The Informer. “We had 19 bouts, evenly matched, competitive and teaching our youth; win or lose, they’re still champions.”
The rowdy atmosphere routinely was filled with cheers and shouts of excitement from families and attendees watching.
“I’m excited to be here because there’s so many parents here and so many young folks here. This is what it takes to make a community,” said Denise Rolark Barnes, publisher of The Washington Informer.
Ezra Barbour, a boxer representing 2 Fly Boxing Gym, was cool, calm and collected after winning a championship belt.
“I was excited [about winning],” Barbour said. “I was taking my time and being calm. I remember saying yesterday in my head, ‘I’ll come out with the triple jab.’”
2 Fly Boxing Gym had multiple championship belt winners, including: Christopher Hart Jr., Delmar Jetter and Marcellus Mebane.
While the H Street NE area has experienced mixed reviews due to violence, despite a lot of new business development, Seat Pleasant Councilmember-at-Large Shireka McCarthy, was happy to see a positive event in the corridor.
“H Street has seen a lot of transformation so it’s nice to see [Black] faces still being active in the community,” McCarth told The Informer.
Heart of the City Candles CEO Desmond Barnes, celebrated the success of the event and its ability to bring the community together.
“Who ever looked at this Auto Zone and thought something like this would be going on? Probably nobody,” said Barnes, as attendees shouted in agreement.
For parent Christopher Hart Sr., boxing is a gateway of opportunities for his son and others, hoping it will keep youth productive and out of trouble.
“The most important thing is kids have the opportunity to fight, get off the streets and be positive,” Hart told The Informer.
