Club Fight Night: brutal training and Covid delay but Hong Kong rugby duo roll with the punches

Club Fight Night returns after a two-year hiatus, with the city’s rugby players donning the gloves in the name of charity

The annual event is working with global sports group Laureus to raise funds for youth mental health programmes including Sport for Good

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Josh Stone and Elizebeth Margerison will get in the ring for charity on November 18. Photo: Jelly Tse

Published: 8:15am, 4 Sep 2022

For the past 12 weeks, Elizabeth Margerison and Josh Stone have been slugging it out on the mats of Hybrid Fitness in Central preparing for the return of the city’s annual charity event, Club Fight Night.

First launched in 2017, Club Fight Night was set to make its return after a two-year hiatus on September 16, until news came through last week that the event had been pushed to November 18, thanks to the latest round of Covid-19 restrictions.

For both Margerison and Stone, it was almost a welcomed relief.

“I don’t necessarily feel that waiting another two months is bad,” Stone said. “I’ve got a long way to go with where I want to be in terms of my weight and my fitness, so I kind of see it more as a blessing really.”

Rugby player Elizebeth Margerison will step into the ring for the very first time and admits “it’s scary, but exciting”. Photo: Jelly Tse

This year, Club Fight Night is working with charity group Laureus and its two key local initiatives Sport for Good and Model City Hong Kong, a health programme that works with various organisations to improve young people’s mental health and well-being.

It also continues a long line of charity initiatives that have seen Club Fight Night, in partnership with Hong Kong Rugby Union, raise much needed funds for local charity organisations including the likes of Operation Breakthrough.