Hong Kong bankers shed their expensive pin-striped suits and donned boxing gloves late on Thursday as they traded blows in the ring at an annual charity event.
The sixth edition of “Hedge Fund Fight Nite” saw 14 contestants from some of the Asian financial hub’s major banks throw punches at each other, much to the delight of hundreds of well-dressed, cheering spectators.
“Words can’t describe it,” said Anthony “The Tank” Carango, representing Nomura International Hong Kong Ltd. “It is the best feeling,” he added of stepping into the ring.
The boxers — including two women and a contestant over the age of 50 — spent five months training for the fight, sacrificing their social lives to be in the best shape possible for the bout.
“The biggest sacrifice was beer, I hadn’t had a beer in like a month, it’s a travesty, so I’m looking forward to the first cold one right now,” Carango said after winning his fight.
The boxers lunged at each other, spewing sweat and occasionally blood for a good cause, as bikini-clad girls circled the arena, providing another form of entertainment for the raucous crowd.
The event was to raise money for Operation Smile — a children’s charity that funds surgeries for facial deformities — and Operation Breakthrough, which fights juvenile delinquency and crime in low-income communities.
Artwork by British artist Peter Blake, most famous for producing the album cover for the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, was sold at auction during the event.
The amount of money raised from the night was not immediately available.
Despite the aggression bankers displayed towards each other in the ring, many said they would sit down and have a beer with their opponents afterwards.
“Hong Kong is such a small community,” said Brad “The Bok” Moreland from HSBC. “We’re actually all mates anyway, we all drink in the same bar,” he said, adding that there is only rivalry when talking to clients.
Hong Kong bankers box for charity
