Leeds bar staff set to battle it out at boxing event

Bartenders from across the city will be battling it out to be the best in the business - but for boxing, not booze.

Bar staff, waiting staff, drinks reps and managers will face each other in the ring as part of the Lord Mayor of Leeds, Coun Jayne Dowson’s ‘Just One Day’ fundraising event for Candlelighters.

The boxing match, being held at Leeds Town Hall on Tuesday May 15, has been organised by Platform Hospitality and Industry Boxing Events (IBE) which is fronted by city drinks reps and former kickboxing world champion, Ricky Burwell, who will be putting the gloves back on himself for the first time in seven years.

He was asked by the city’s Mayor to host Leeds’ second IBE event as part of her fundraising programme after a successful inaugural boxing night at the Corn Exchange back in November which made £9,000 for charity.

After posting in the Facebook group ‘Leeds Bargrafters’, which is for industry staff to share news, promotions and job opportunities, he was inundated with requests from people wanting to take part and whittled his list of contestants from more than 70 to 26.

With many of them complete novices to the sport he has been putting them through their paces with training sessions at the Golden Team gym in Hunslet and is now matching the fighters up with the bouts set to be announced at a press conference on April 16 at The Brotherhood bar.

He told City Buzz: “I got three times the number of requests as I did for the first event. I have matched height and weight and now we have started training I have an idea in my head who will be fighting who.

“A lady that works with the Lord Mayor on events put us in touch and we had a meeting and she was talking about her legacy, what she wants to achieve in Leeds and in particular with the food and drink industry and independents so it all sat really nicely.“I was super proud of the last event and there was not one complaint and being asked to do this gives us another kick. Not only is this a huge honour with Platform Hospitality been of West Yorkshire origins, it also opens up the capacity and volume of people we can gather under one roof for an event of unforgettable proportions.”

Platform Hospitality was set up as a social network for staff working the pub, club and hotel trade as despite being at the centre of thousands of people’s social lives - for them the long and irregular hours can be lonely and isolating.

Events such as IBE are designed to bring them together and will feature faces from Doghouse, Distrikt, Domini Club, East 59th, Oporto, Alchemist, Cielo Blanco, Revolucion de Cuba, Man’s Market, Salvo’s, Neon Cactus, Sky Lounge, Dakota, Roland’s and DJ Drink and London Cocktail Club in a headline fight that sees Burwell back in the ring.

He won the World Kickboxing Championship in Canada when he was 17, turned professional and went on to win British and European titles. He left the sport seven years ago after the death of his father and birth of his daughter but is looking forward to his return.

He said: “It was a massive passion but these things happened and I needed to get a job so that is why I stopped but I can’t wait to get in the ring and get that buzz back.”