CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The YMCA of the Coastal Bend hosted a sparring exhibition on Saturday to raise donations that will benefit its youth and development programs.
It is called "Coastal Bend Champions for Charity" and hundreds of people packed the YMCA's gym to cheer on the participants.
"We're sold out," said Marcus Lozano, Chairman of the Board for the YMCA of the Coastal Bend. "We have people knocking on the doors trying to get a ticket to come to this event and it's really heartwarming."
300 tickets were sold and every seat was a donation to the YMCA of the Coastal Bend. Commentators Alan Holt and Chris Thomasson were there to get the crowd ready. Lozano said there were 12 total sparring partners.
"We're all from so many different parts of Corpus Christi but we all come together for the same cause," Lozano said.
Corpus Christi Mayor Paulette Guajardo was also in attendance. She said the community is stronger together—especially when it is for a good cause.
"Children always come first, and so, that's what this is about, children and families, and you see our community coming together to help one another," Guajardo said.
One of the sparring participants was Karo Azali—representing Azali Homes, which builds apartments and houses across the Coastal Bend. He said the event's organizers reached out to him about getting into the ring.
"I decided to step up and say, yeah, let's do it, it's going to be a good time for a good cause," Azali said.
Lozano added that it was exciting that the community was ready for a fun and effective charity event like this.