Zhang Qian

zhqcindy@163.com

A WHITE-COLLAR boxing event in Futian District on the night of June 15 brought together nearly 450 participants, including both expats and Chinese as well as 18 amateur boxers, and earned over 100,000 yuan (US$14,710) in an auction for a local charity organization.

It is the second time that the organizer, John Graham Harper, an Australian businessman based in Shenzhen, has held a white-collar boxing event in the city. The first event was held in Shekou last December.

“This is a White-collar Fight Night, which means we get CEOs or people in upper executive positions in business and we give them a challenge to fight,” said Harper.

The organizer gave the amateur fighters three months to train before the final match June 15. A total of nine pairs of fighters competed in the event. The winners of each fight were rewarded with specially made trophies.

Several works of art and calligraphy by famous artists, ordinary children and special children, were auctioned off during the boxing night. Most of the money earned will go to A Heart for China, which is a local charity organization founded by a Belgian.

“I am very excited tonight because A Heart for China has been chosen as the charity organization to receive the donation and get attention from many communities here. I was told that it would take two to three weeks before they would send the funds to me,” said the founder, Ronny Verdoodt.

“We are going to make donations to the Minai Special Children Welfare Center where three kids from there contributed three paintings. I think it’s good to support them in that way,” said Verdoodt.

One of the art pieces made by children from an art center based in Futian named Color Art Center was sold for 8,000 yuan, while some others sold for nearly 10,000 yuan each.

“This particular artwork was done by six children between the ages of 6 and 7. We let them be immersed in the joy of paining by spraying and splashing paint on the board,” said Anna Zhuang, a teacher from the art center.

Being a boxing enthusiast, Harper always wanted to organize a fun and interesting event like the boxing night in South China. “Lots of people say Shenzhen is boring, compared to Shanghai where there are many of these, so I want to try to change that,” said the organizer.

“Boxing is much safer than other martial arts. So it’s something that I want to start in South China for the business community, the tech community and the finance community in Shenzhen,” Harper said, adding that he and his company, Project 0/1, would try to organize the boxing night at least twice a year in Shenzhen.