SUGAR RAY LEONARD FOUNDATION 13TH ANNUAL 'BIG FIGHTERS, BIG CAUSE' CHARITY BOXING NIGHT PRESENTED BY B. RILEY SECURITIES
RAISES OVER $400,000 TO HELP TREAT TYPE 1 & 2 DIABETES
MARIA MENOUNOS HONORED WITH THE 2024 GOLDEN GLOVE AWARD
ACTION-PACKED EVENING FEATURED FOUR GOLDEN BOY FIGHTS,
INCLUDING JORGE "EL NIÑO DORADO" CHAVEZ VS. SHARONE "SMOKE" CARTER IN THE MAIN EVENT
Hi-Res, Downloadable Images Available HERE
Hi-Res, Downloadable Video Footage Available HERE
Click HERE for Fight Night Scorecards
LOS ANGELES, CA (May 23, 2024) - For the 13th year, B. Riley Securities presented the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation "Big Fighters, Big Cause" Charity Boxing Night on Wednesday, May 22 at The Beverly Hilton. Comedian Russell Peters hosted the exclusive star-studded event which featured first-class entertainment including four action-packed live fights presented by Golden Boy Promotions, a National Anthem performance by singer-songwriter Claire Khodara, and a live and silent auction display featuring unique items and experiences and legendary memorabilia.
The evening also honored Emmy® Award-winning TV personality, journalist, actress, author and entrepreneur Maria Menounos, acknowledging Menounos' personal and familial journey with Type 1 diabetes. After her father was diagnosed over 50 years ago, Menounos herself was diagnosed in the summer of 2022. Since then, she has been committed to helping raise awareness for the disease while sharing her own health story and celebrating the strength of the diabetes community.
"Diabetes has been a cause that has been close to my heart ever since I was little, because my dad was a type 1 diabetic and we struggled with the disease," said Menounos while accepting the award virtually in a pre-recorded video. "It wasn't until I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes myself that I really got to see the challenges that exist firsthand. I just want to say to everyone who's dealing with diabetes, I see you. My dad sees you. My family sees you."
The event raised over $400,000, with proceeds benefiting the Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation's mission to fund life-changing research, care and awareness for pediatric type 1 and 2 diabetes, and to help children live healthier lives through diet and exercise.
Among the other celebrity guests in attendance, the Foundation welcomed Sugar Ray Leonard and Bernadette Leonard, Cedric the Entertainer, Michael Buffer, Johnny Gill, Richard Hilton, Jimmy Jam, Caitlyn Jenner, Tina Knowles-Lawson, Mario Lopez, Judge Mathis, Jane Seymour and Mia St. John among others.
The live fights presented by Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions featured some of the must-watch prospects in the stable. In the main event, San Diego's still undefeated Jorge "El Niño Dorado" Chavez (11-0, 8 KOs) added another knockout to his record in a fight against Sharone "Smoke" Carter (13-8-1, 3 KOs) of St. Louis, Missouri. Scheduled as an eight-round featherweight event, the back-and-forth action made it until the conclusion of the sixth-round, where the corner called for the stoppage due to Carter complaining of a hand injury, awarding the knockout to Chavez. In an action-packed co-main event, Denver Colorado's Daniel "Junebug" Garcia (9-0, 7 KOs) defeated Lincoln, Calif.'s David Minter (4-5, 3 KOs) via knockout. Scheduled for four-rounds of lightweight action, Minter's corner waved the white towel at 0:22 in the second-round.
Representing Waianae, Hawaii, Dalis Kaleiopu (5-0, 4 KOs) added another knockout to his record against Phillip Ramirez (1-4) of Los Angeles, Calif. Scheduled for four-rounds, Kaleiopu hit him to the body, sending Ramirez straight to the mat at 0:38 in the second round. Ramirez was unable to get back up, and Kaleiopu took home the knockout victory. Opening up the fight portion of the night's festivities with a four-round super welterweight bout, still undefeated prospect Fabian Guzman (4-0, 4 KOs) of Orange, Calif. defeated Michael "Mighty Mike" Lemelle (3-18-3) of Fort Worth, Texas. Guzman dropped Lemelle twice throughout the bout; once in the first round, and again in the second round. The referee stopped the fight at 2:40 in the second, awarding the knockout victory to Guzman.
The event took place during B. Riley Securities' 23rd Annual Institutional Investor Conference, a two-day premier investment and networking event which brings together public and private companies with institutional investors, high-net worth individuals, and corporate clients, as well as select members of the press. Conference attendees also joined the Charity Boxing Night.
About Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation
The Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation was established in 2009 by boxing legend and six-time world champion Sugar Ray Leonard and his wife, Bernadette. The Sugar Ray Leonard Foundation is committed to funding research and care for pediatric type 1 & 2 diabetes and creates awareness for both diseases. The Foundation also strives to help children live healthier lives through diet and exercise.
Type 1 diabetes strikes both children and adults at any age. It comes on suddenly, causes dependence on injected or pumped insulin for life, and carries the constant threat of devastating complications. Type 2 diabetes in children is on the rise, fueled largely by the obesity epidemic.
Leonard draws from his personal experience and boxing career to provide inspiration for funding research to combat the disease. For more information, visit www.sugarrayleonardfdn.org. Follow on Instagram at @sugarrayleonard, Twitter at @SugarRayLeonard and Facebook at @SugarRayLeonard6.
About Golden Boy
Los Angeles-based Golden Boy was established in 2002 by Oscar De La Hoya, the first Hispanic to own a national boxing promotional company. Golden Boy is a media and entertainment brand committed to making fighting entertainment more accessible and affordable. The company's in-house production team develops creative original programming for RingTV.com and international channels across the globe. The company holds the exclusive rights to top boxers and has promoted some of the biggest and highest-grossing events in the history of the sport. Now, Golden Boy is one of the most successful boxing entertainment companies in the world and shapes the future of boxing for fighters and fans alike.
About B. Riley Securities
B. Riley has served as a preeminent fixture in middle market brokerage and investment banking for over 25 years. We provide a full suite of investment banking and capital markets services to companies, financial sponsors, and institutional investors across all industry verticals. Investment banking services include initial, secondary and follow-on offerings, institutional private placements, merger and acquisition (M&A) advisory, SPACs, debt financings, corporate restructuring and recapitalization. Widely recognized for our thematic proprietary equity research, clients benefit from B. Riley's extensive network, industry expertise, and proven execution capabilities of our end-to-end financial services platform. Please see disclosures about B. Riley Securities Research here. The firm is a subsidiary of B. Riley Financial (Nasdaq: RILY). For more information, visit www.brileysecurities.com.
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CONTACTS:
For Event Inquiries:
Caroline Stegner, R&CPMK: caroline.stegner@rcpmk.com
Madison Thomas, R&CPMK: madison.thomas@rcpmk.com
For Sugar Ray Leonard:
Jeff Raymond, R&CPMK: jeff.raymond@rcpmk.com
Laura Potesta, R&CPMK: laura.potesta@rcpmk.com
Jasmine Pezeshki, R&CPMK: jasmine.pezeshki@rcpmk.com
For Golden Boy:
Jane Murcia: jane@goldenboypromotions.com
For B. Riley Securities:
Jo Anne McCusker: press@brileyfin.com