Boxing at the Pipkin is back for another swing this weekend – and the card is expected to be bigger than ever.
Presented by Mayor Jim Strickland and the Memphis Office of Youth Services, Boxing At The Pipkin 5 is set for 7 p.m., with the doors opening at 6:30 p.m.
There are 15 bouts on the card, with youth boxers coming from as far away as St. Louis to the north and Jackson, Miss. to the south. Boxers from Alabama and Arkansas will also step in the ring to test their pugilistic prowess.
Admission is free but tickets are required. Better act quickly, though – tickets are going fast, said Office of Youth Services Director Ike Griffith.
The Boxing At the Pipkin series grew out of an alliance initially powered by former CDA Security founder and one-time policeman Clift Dates, the Memphis Boxing Group, LLC, Battlefields of Life Foundation, the Restoration House Boxing Academy, the Afro-American Police Association, Youth Services and The New Tri-State Defender.
The age range of the boxers mostly will be 8 years through 17 years, with a sprinkling of young adults. Memphis-area boxers train with Pete Mitchell at Restoration House Boxing Academy in Frayser.
As with the other Boxing at the Pipkin events, the goal is to engage youth who might not be attracted to other sports.
“We’ve got to keep these opportunities out here for these young people,” Griffith said, touting not just the boxing event, but other OYP programs like MPLOY, Memphis Youth Got Talent. “I need the citizens of Memphis to support the Office of Youth Services and help us help our young people become productive individuals.”
Tickets are available at various locations, including the Memphis Office of Youth Services, 315 S. Hollywood, and the following police precincts: Old Allen Station, 3633 Allen Rd., Crump Station, 949 E.H. Crump Blvd., Raines Station, 791 East Raines, and Airways Station, 2234 Truitt St.
