Leominster resident Derek Montolio will be fighting for a cure, literally, in the annual Haymakers for Hope charity boxing event next month.
On May 7 at the MGM Music Hall at Fenway, Montolio will join 29 other brave fighters residing in the New England region who will be stepping into the ring at the 15th annual “Rock ‘N Rumble” Boxing Charity event to combat cancer and raise money for their main beneficiary, The Dana Farber Cancer Institute.
Since having its first event in 2011, Haymakers for Hope has raised over $42 million for cancer research, awareness, survivorship, and care. Participants have been training at local partner gyms over the course of the last four months, culminating in the highly anticipated live fight night at the state-of-the-art MGM Music Hall, performing in front of a sold-out crowd and fighting for a cure.
Montolio charts out his journey to the ring on his donation page. He’s already more than tripled his fundraising goal of $10,000.
“During my growing-up years, the family next door to me (still currently close family friends), had two family members diagnosed with Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA), a disease they still battle today. It is a genetic, progressive neuromuscular disease,” Montolio states on the page. “People with FA experience issues with balance and coordination of movement that lead to life-altering loss of mobility. Other common symptoms can include fatigue, serious heart conditions, scoliosis, and diabetes. FA is life-shortening and affects an estimated 5,000 individuals in the United States and 15,000 worldwide.”
His aim is to help provide funding to research and battle diseases like FA.
“I fight so that they and others affected by this disease, along with anyone suffering from neurological sicknesses can know that the community fights together to research a cure through hard work and determination,” Montolio. “I also fight as a way to give back and for people to know that no matter where you are in life, there is always a deeper side of you that has more strength and courage than you ever knew existed.”
A 34-year-old corporate finance manager, Montolio was strategically paired with a boxing gym and Nolan Bros. Boxing in Waltham to guide him through the vigorous four-month training cycle. The 6-foot-1, 199-pound prospective pugilist trained individually and within small intimate groups, learning the fundamentals of the sport
The fights are sanctioned by USA Boxing and are scheduled to last for three, two-minute rounds.
Doors for the 21-plus “Rock ‘N Rumble” open at 6:30 p.m. on May 7, with bouts beginning an hour later. To learn more about Haymakers for Hope and its mission and to purchase tickets for the Boston event, visit haymakersforhope.org.
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