Fight for Rockaway charity event set for December 15th in New York

After Hurricane Sandy ravaged Rockaway Beach and many other areas of the east coast Chris "Mr. Classic" Romulo's gym and home were destroyed. A great part of The community of Rockaway Beach where the Romulos lived and their gym was located suffered severe flooding resulting in the complete loss of many homes and businesses, including the Romulo’s. Now many Muay Thai fans, and good Samaritans have stepped forward to help raise money for Chris Romulo and CROM Marital Training. Today, Justin Blair, President Justin Blair of Friday Night Fights and the Romulo’s have jointly announced that they will be hosting a charity Fight Night event on Saturday December 15th to help raise funds for Romulo and CROM MT. A fight card for the event has not been announced, but not only is there one more event in the year which is great, but it is being put on for the benefit of raising money for the Romulo family and CROM MT which is makes it event better. 

Full press release below:

Friday Night Fights, President & Chris Romulo team up to benefit the CROM Martial Training Center.

Former WKA North American Super Middle Weight Champion, Chris Romulo announced earlier today that he would be working with long-time friend and president of Friday Night Fight, Justin Blair on a fight night to benefit the CROM Martial Training Center that was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy. The gym, which was started by Chris Romulo and his wife, Sarah Romulo, was located in Rockaway Beach, New York, one of the hardest hit areas in the region devastated by the Hurricane. 

CROM Martial Training, or, CROM MT as it is known by, quickly earned its stripes as a legitimate fight gym with Sarah Romulo winning a match at the Rumble on the River in 2010 and team member Melvin Vega winning this year’s New York Golden Gloves title at 119lbs. Earlier this year, the Romulo’s held their own fight event for charity on the Rockaway Beach Boardwalk aptly titled “Battle on the Boards” further establishing the club’s legitimacy within the fight community.

Chris Romulo had this to say about his gym and the upcoming event:

Obviously it has been a difficult time for many people in the area. Our gym was far more than our livelihood, we were honored to have created a sense of community built from the sport we love so much. Our members, teammates, friends and family were what made our gym what it was and that’s not something that goes away so easily.

Sarah and I are committed to remaining in Rockaway Beach and rebuilding what we started, making our club even better than it was before. We are both looking forward to getting started. The support that we’ve received to date has touched both Sarah and I deeply however we are very much looking forward to getting back on track and our event on December 15^thwill be a big step in that direction.

Justin Blair, President of Friday Night Fights followed up with the following statement:

In addition to being a fan of Chris Romulo, he and his wife Sarah are also close friends of ours. On a personal level, Chris and I have a long history and have been through a fair amount together. We essentially “grew up” together in our respective fields (professionally) and I’m grateful for having him in my corner for so many years.

We were very fortunate to have Chris compete for us for so many year and I’d like to think that our professional relationship reflected the mutual respect and appreciation we had (and still have) for one another as friends . Chris Romulo will always remain FNF’s premier “franchise player”. Chris personifies so many of the qualities that fans of the sport of Muay Thai respect – dignity, class, honor, sportsmanship and a sense of community. Chris was and remains a member of our close knit team at FNF that identifies and values these attributes so we’re honored for the opportunity to participate in organizing the December 15^th event in his honor and benefit. 

The December 15^th event will take place at the Broad Street Ballroom on Saturday December 15^th and will feature a full card of Muay Thai fights along with a silent auction and other fundraising activities. The event will offer both table service as well as premium and general admission ticketing. For more details, visit www.fridaynightfights.com on Wednesday November 14^th. 

*Photo by Lance Burns