'Ding Dong in Hong Kong' a top draw

When the bell rings for the first round of the super-heavyweight amateur boxing bout at the Hong Kong Football Club tonight, two very different fighters will face off on the canvas.

The contest has been billed as the 'Ding Dong in Hong Kong', and will take place before a sell-out crowd of about 450 spectators. It will be the headline fight on a six-bout card, which also includes women boxers, reformed street toughs and ex-triad members.

Tonight, however, everyone will be fighting for charity. The $700-a-head Henley Group Limited Boxing Smoker, organised by the British Chamber of Commerce and the Hong Kong Police, will raise funds to send troubled youths to Outward Bound camps.

At the top of the card, police super-heavyweight campaigner Danny Lawley, a veteran fighter with a record of eight wins and four losses in 12 fights, will be the clear favourite in the clash of the big men.

The South African southpaw will meet this journalist, who at best can boast an unblemished record, of sorts: zero losses and zero wins in zero fights.

Promoter Barry Smith, a police superintendent who is also a police light-middleweight boxing champion, said the 100kg-plus final bout would follow some thrilling action in the lighter weight divisions.

Most of the fighters are former hard-case youngsters who have been rehabilitated through the police department's Operation Breakthrough programme.

'They love the atmosphere of the big night. More importantly, they help to generate funds to help lads who were in a similar situation a few years back,' Mr Smith said.

The proceeds from the event will send troubled youths to Outward Bound camps, where they learn about expanding their minds and taking responsibility for their actions, he said.