Smithfield Boxing Club welcomes group of Ukrainian boxers
Smithfield Boxing Club hosted a group of Ukrainian boxers last week as part of an intercultural sporting event to give them a break from the reality of the ongoing war.
‘Boxfest’ has been organised by Smithfield Boxing Club for the past 12 years, with the first event of its kind being held back in 2010.
This year, Olympic Boxing Club Galway also hosted and trained the fighters.
The festival was split into two parts with plenty of great exhibition bouts on show.
The first leg was held in Dublin’s St Catherine’s Sports Centre in the Liberties on September 27, and the second leg took place at Westside Boxing Gym in Galway on September 30 and 31.
Former Ukraine national boxer Rusland Antia opened the event with a song to kick things off.
Smithfield Boxing Club tweeted about the schedule that the fighters had, “#TeamUkraine is en route for Smithfield Boxfest 2023. They will train with us and box in our show in St. Catherine’s Sports Centre D8 from 6pm on Wednesday – then travel to Olympic BC Galway on Thursday for a training camp and gala show.”
Founder of Smithfield BC and Ukrainian national Igor Khmil, took to Instagram to let people know about his reasons for organising the event.
“This year we are bringing all the communities even closer together by hugely emphasising the great diversity this city has to offer using boxing as a tool”.
Igor Khmil
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