The competitors for the second Sport Relief Light Entertainment
Boxing Belt were announced today at The Sports Caf茅 in London.
In the red corner will be former Castaway heart-throb Ben 'The
Bear' Fogle (31) while in the blue corner is Sid 'The
Snake' Owen (32), best known for playing Ricky Butcher in EastEnders.
Dressed in their Sport Relief robes and trunks, the two celebrity competitors
stepped onto the scales under the supervision of the Amateur Boxing
Association as part of their official pre-match weigh-in.
For the first time ever, judging of the fight will be left to the British
public who will text in their winner for a People's champion at the
end.
The two celebrity boxers will take part in a three round boxing bout
which will be transmitted live on 大象传媒 ONE on Sport Relief Saturday -
10 July.
This will be one of the highlights of Sport Relief Saturday, a five-hour
TV extravaganza which is set to be a fantastic evening's entertainment.
Ben will be trained by Jim McDonnell who coached Les Dennis
and Grant Bovey and is currently trainer of former British and Commonwealth
heavyweight champion Danny Williams.
Ben will also have former World Heavyweight Champion Frank Bruno
on hand as his mentor.
Ben said: "I've already been training for a couple of marathons so
am in pretty good shape. This will be a personal challenge for me and
Sport Relief is such a great cause.
"I'm very stubborn when I get going so I won't let my training
team down. They don't call me 'The Bear' for nothing!"
Showing Sid the ropes will be Frank Maloney, who coached Ricky
Gervais, and Eugene Maloney, current trainer and manager of British
heavyweight Matt Skelton.
Former World featherweight Champion Barry McGuigan will be stepping
forward to be Sid's mentor.
Sid said: "With the help of Frank and Barry, I'll be ready for Ben.
I'm looking forward to getting fit and intend to give it my best shot
and Go the Extra Mile for Sport Relief.
"You could say that I'm quietly confident - watch out Ben!"
Film crews will be following both Ben and Sid through the highs and
lows of their training and this will also be shown on 10 July.
Both Sid 'The Snake' and Ben 'The Bear' meet all the requirements of
the Amateur Boxing Association (ABA) and have been declared Super Middleweights.
They have both also passed the first of a series of stringent medical
checks to ensure that they are fit to fight.
Ben and Sid are using this as a great opportunity to get fit and are
looking forward to finding out what it takes to become a boxer.
Both will undergo at least a month of intense training under the watchful
eye of their experienced trainers.
Although the fight is very much a fun event and a way of raising money
for Sport Relief's Go The Extra Mile campaign, the 大象传媒 has secured an
official licence from the ABA to stage the bout.
Both boxers will also earn official ABA ME3 cards which means that
they can fight in amateur boxing matches, should they want to, after
the Sport Relief bout.
On the night both competitors will box with maximum protection - gloves,
headgear, protectors and gum shields - and referee Bill Cox will
be on hand to ensure the fight is a fair one.
Sport Relief was set up by Comic Relief and 大象传媒 Sport to tackle poverty
and disadvantage, both in the UK and internationally.
Its debut in 2002 raised more than 拢14m, and that money is now hard
at work.
This time around the vision is to harness the power, passion and goodness
of sport to help change the world.
Venues up and down the country will host the Fitness First Sport Relief
Mile and some of the best known faces from the world of sport and entertainment
will line up alongside the public as the whole nation comes together
to be part of a very special day.
Rachel Stevens, Sir Steve Redgrave, Jo Brand, Alec Stewart, Gordon
Ramsay, Nick Faldo, Colin Jackson and Nicki Chapman are just some of
the names who have already signed up, with more coming on board by the
day.
There's no need to be a sporty person to get involved. Just sign up,
get sponsored and be there on Sport Relief Saturday to help change the
world by miles.
For more information on Sport Relief and to register for you place
at the Mile, visit .
Notes to Editors
What is Sport Relief?
Sport Relief was set up by Comic Relief and 大象传媒 Sport to use the power
and passion of sport to tackle poverty and disadvantage, both in the
UK and in some of the world's poorest countries.
What is happening this year?
Fourteen venues up and down the country will host the Fitness First
Sport Relief Mile and well-known faces from the world of sport and entertainment
will line up alongside the public as the whole nation comes together
to 'Go the Extra Mile'.
Sport Relief Saturday concludes with a night of spectacular unmissable
TV on 大象传媒 ONE.
The Fitness First Sport Relief Mile comes in two distinct flavours
with the Time Trial Mile for people who want to set themselves a target
and the Freestyle Mile for all those who want more fun and less run
by doing it any way they want.
How to get involved with Sport Relief
To book a place or for the information on The Fitness First Sport
Relief Mile, visit .
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For a registration kit call 09068 10 10 10 (calls cost no more than
拢1 which covers print, postage and packaging) or text "kit" to 84466
(texts will cost no more than 75p, which contributes towards postage
and packaging. Please ask bill payer's permission before texting).
Register through any one of the 149 Fitness First health clubs all
over the UK.
Buy a Speedo Sport Relief T-shirt for 拢14.99 from kitbag.com.
To make a donation call 08457 910 910 (calls will be charged at local
rate).
Where does Sport Relief money go?
Half of the money raised by Sport Relief will be spent in the UK funding
projects that make a difference through sport.
The other half will be spent on work trying to help kids who are having
really tough lives in some of the poorest countries in the world.
Sport Relief history
Sport Relief made its debut in 2002 and raised a staggering 拢14.4m.
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The first Sport Relief in 2002 saw some seriously big names - David
Beckham, Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Ali, Michael Owen and Denise Lewis,
to name but a few.
In the UK, Sport Relief '02 cash is levelling the playing field -
helping tackle poverty and bringing young people that have been divided
by conflict and tension together through sport.
Overseas Sport Relief '02 is helping children like 10-year-old Elisabeth,
who lives in Peru.
Elisabeth used to get up at 5.00am every day to work in a quarry making
bricks.
Thanks to the money that everyone helped to raise, Elisabeth can now
go to school and be a child again.
Sport Relief is an initiative of Comic Relief, registered charity
326568.
Where are the Sport Relief Miles taking
place?
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