Team Gillett's Josh LaBerge, Step's in the ring for Kids Charity

Fall River, Ma

Josh LaBerge is one of the many up-and-coming MMA fighters on the New England scene but Josh is about to take his skills south for a kids charity event. The event is ‘Fight Night for Kids’: Presented by the Charlotte Sports Commission and sponsored by the NBA’s Charlotte Bobcats in Charlotte, N. Carolina.

This charity has only featured Pro Boxing matches in the past but this year, their tenth anniversary, will feature 2 Pro MMA bouts and 4 Pro Boxing matches. The MMA portion is being run by Kenny Letts, a steering committee member for the last nine events. Letts, who will be promoting an all MMA show in April, needed a fighter willing to get in the ring with undefeated  Jon Owens (4-0). Owens fights out of Team Evolution, his last 2 fights haven’t gone past the 0:40 mark of the 1st round, both wins by way of KO. LaBerge, coming off a decision victory over the hard-hitting Barrington Douse in the USFL, didn’t hesitate when the call came. When asked what this means for his career LaBerge says ” This is a great opportunity for me, not only can I fight in front of a different audience but an audience that are primarily boxing fans so I’ll really be showcasing MMA for the first time to a lot of the people there. On top of that, it’s for a great charity and I’m honored to be a part of the event that will put them over the million dollar mark.” His thoughts on his opponent, ” I’ve only seen Jon’s fights on Youtube, he looks to be an explosive fighter. I anticipate a stand-up war, I want to put on a good show for the fans and come home with a “W”. I think I have what it takes to beat him. It should be a hell of a fight. He’s undefeated but he hasn’t fought me”.

This is as close to a Las Vegas style event as there is on the east coast, with a list of boxing greats having attended in the past, most notably  Sugar Ray Leonard, Joe Frazier, Evander Holyfield, Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini and Larry Holmes just to name a few. While having celebrities in the crowd may have an affect on some fighters, Josh doesn’t seem to think it will matter, ” There’s no doubt it will be cool but once the bell rings you have to focus on the fight and not let any of that distract you.” For Team Gillett owner/trainer Tim Gillett, he says of Josh’s opportunity “This is a great chance for Josh to test himself against one of the best in N. Carolina and hopefully gain some new fans. Also, anytime you can be a part of a charity that helps kids, it’s an honor. We have a great group of guys and girls training here who would go out of their way to help kids”.

LaBerge will not have too much time to rest following his fight with Owens, as he’s scheduled to take on #7 ranked Featherweight Aguileno Brandao on February 28th at Full Force’s Untamed 26.