Visitors to the Marathon Elks Lodge on Saturday night were treated to a first-of-its-kind spectacle in the Middle Keys as Marathon Boxing Studio hosted a charity boxing exhibition in collaboration with Spar Wars Entertainment.
Dubbed “Spar Wars: Marathon vs. Miami, the Battle for Florida,” the evening pitted 20 fighters from the island chain and Miami against one another for 10 grueling fights, with proceeds funding annual Pay It Forward scholarships for Marathon High School seniors distributed by Wendy Bonilla.
“I’m a mental health crisis responder here in the Keys, and I noticed for coping skills there’s not really much here,” said Marathon Boxing Studio founder Dwayne Ellis on his gym’s growth over the last two years, culminating in the hundreds filling the Elks Lodge to watch the bouts. “This program was built for that purpose – to help these kids, adults and young adults. It’s been a really great outlet for them, and we’re trying to push this thing to let the people here in Marathon know that this is needed.”
Ellis admitted the novel event was “a little scary at first,” but lauded the backing from the Elks Lodge and Marathon locals in packing the house for one of his biggest shows ever.
“This had never been done before, but at the end of the day, I have a lot of gratitude towards the Elks Lodge, and it was a great turnout at the end of the night,” Ellis said. “We had key sponsorships and a really great support system.”
