Solaris Gals to Box in Charity Bouts for Lupus Research
Several of Solaris Sports Club’s employees—Traci Burton, Denise Giordano and Jennie Geyer–will step in the ring for a cause. On July 9, the ladies will participate in an evening of boxing and jiu-jitsu at Solaris Sports Club, Yorktown Heights, from 6 to 9 p.m. All proceeds from the event will go to the Alliance for Lupus Research.
Burton, Giordano and Geyer have been training with Manny Feliz, the event’s organizer and the club’s boxing instructor, for the past four months and are ready to show off their skills. To make things even more interesting Geyer, a Mahopac resident who is the club’s sports director, is taking on Burton, a Yorktown Heights resident who is a popular group fitness instructor and personal trainer.
“I had guys stop me and say, ‘I can’t believe you are going to fight Traci, I wouldn’t event fight her,’” Geyer said.
“I am very challenge-oriented so when Manny came to me with this idea I was like train me. Traci and I are both moms and we were both up for a challenge. This is something we have never done before, so why not do it.”
“People want to see get my butt kicked,” laughed Burton. “Because I am always kicking their butt, they are going to be cheering for Jennie.”
Although Burton teaches a variety of classes including kickboxing, she acknowledged that boxing is completely different. “I teach kickboxing, but in that you are punching air,” she stated. “When you are hitting bags and other people it is a whole other world. When Manny hit me in the gut he knocked the wind out of me. Nobody knocks the wind out of me in my classes.”
“The first time I trained with Manny I called my manager up to see if I could get out of it,” Geyer said. “He hit me hard; then after a couple of hits you get used to getting banged up. Now I am really scared,”
Geyer admitted. “Everybody wants to see blood.” Feliz assured her that there will be blood.
Another girl-on- girl match up will have Giordano, a Yorktown Heights resident who works in the membership services department at Solaris, battling her friend of 18 years Stephanie Ambrosecchia. “They approached me about it and when I told my husband about it,” said Giordano. “He was like ‘Yeah!’ He wants to see me in the match.”
“Then I told my girlfriend that I was going to box and that I had to find an opponent and she volunteered,” Giordano stated. “It is all for charity. It is all for fun. I can take a few punches for lupus. It will be good.”
“This is a charity event, but there are 25 bouts and most of the people do not know who the person they are going to fight,” Feliz said. “This is for real. Once you get into the ring it is not about who is your friend. There will be blood.” In addition to the women, there will be fighters from NY MAG Gym, Premier Martial Arts Club, Rudy’s Boxing Club participating.
This is the third charity boxing event the club has held. Feliz organized one in 2006 for St. Jude’s hospital which raised $5,000 and another in 2007 benefitting autism research that rose over $8,000. A change in management forced charity endeavors to be put on hold, but Feliz credits Solaris’ current general manager Kristine Theo for embracing charitable work and permitting the club to raise money and awareness for issues.
This time around the charity chosen is Alliance for Lupus Research, an organization close to Feliz’s heart because his wife has suffered with lupus for the past 15 years.
Spectators can view the bouts for $20. Purchase tickets at Solaris Sports Club, located at 201 Veterans Road, Yorktown Heights. For more information, call 914-962-4094.
Adam has worked in the local news industry for the past two decades in Westchester County and the broader Hudson Valley. Read more from Adam’s author bio here.