Lorenzo Neal to appear at boxing ring dedication
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Lemoore Advance
The Lemoore Parks and Recreation Department has announced that Lorenzo Neal of the Oakland Raiders will attend the dedication of their first boxing ring.
The dedication will take place at 10 a.m. June 27 at the Cinnamon Municipal Complex. There will be demonstrations from professional boxers and cage fighters.
The Recreation Department has developed a boxing program with the help of Neal's brother, instructor Eddie Neal, and with donations from Kings County Board of Realtors, the Chief's Association of Naval Air Station Lemoore and the Kiwanis Club of Lemoore during October of last year.
For the last seven months, more than 50 children and adults have learned punches, jabs and footwork in the Cinnamon Municipal Complex. The boxing program has not had a ring until now, thanks to a generous gift from the Lemoore Rotary Club.
Director of Parks and Recreation Joe Simonson is thrilled with the success of the program and feels the boxing ring will take the program to the next level.
"This ring will allow us to pursue a relationship with USA boxing and give the children in our program the opportunity to compete," Simonson said. "The participants had gone as far as they could without a ring, but with every city making cuts to recreation we had to look to the community for support.
"The Lemoore Rotary Club listened and understood how important this program was to so many youths in our community," he continued. "They shared our vision that the addition of a ring would inspire the youth already participating and draw even more kids into the program. They were awarded a grant that allowed them to donate the ring to the youth of Lemoore. This would not have been possible without this wonderful organization."
The recreation boxing club "Rokici-E" will show what they have learned in the last seven months. The PAL Youth Boxing Club from Visalia will show how the program can develop by putting on a sparing exhibition. Lorenzo Neal will speak at 11 a.m. and sign autographs until 1 p.m.
Boxing registrations will also be taken from 10:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. Each person who registers will be put into a raffle for two tickets to a Raiders Game. Neal will present the winner with the tickets. There will be free hot dogs and entertainment during the day. For more information, call 924-6767.
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