Footballers to pack a punch for charity

The training, the lung-burning longs runs and tortuous sparring sessions in gyms around the country, are over. The hype has been built by the county board promoters and, finally, the time has arrived to lace 'em up and climb between the ropes. Let's get ready to ruummble! It may be a long way from the bright lights of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas or Madison Square Garden, New York to the Imperial Bar for the Breffni Fight Night this Friday (doors 8pm), but the basic idea will be the same - keep on swinging! The fight night, pitting almost 30 Cavan footballers against each other in the ring, has caught the imagination of the Cavan public and promises to be a unique occasion. "Funds raised on the night are going to two charities, the BabyMax Wings of Love Charity on behalf of Maclean Burke (Damien in Fair City) who will also fight on the night and for a young Cavan Boy, Kelvin Brady who is currently sick and undergoing treatment," explained Enda Mulvany, a key organiser behind the event. "The night is also part of the county senior team's way to improve their fitness and conditioning levels and to contribute something back towards the cost of preparing a county senior team in the current economic climate. Cavan manager Tom Carr also been spending time in the ring and a queue of players is forming to tussle with him on the night. Carr said "A lot of teams try the same thing year in year out but to no avail - but we wanted to mix it up a bit. It's all for a bit of craic plus charities will benefit from the players efforts on the night." The full match-ups are as follows: • Doors open at 8pm with tickets priced at €25 each. Over 18's only, neat dress essential and entry to the niteclub is included in the cost of the ticket.