Mitt Romney to Box Retired Heavyweight Champion for Charity

Mitt Romney, member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and former governor of Massachusetts, will be entering the fighting ring this May. The 68-year-old former Republican party presidential candidate will box 52-year-old former World Heavyweight Champion, Evander Holyfield. Romney told the Salt Lake Tribune,

[pull_quote_center]It will either be a very short fight, or I will be knocked unconscious.[/pull_quote_center]

Romney emphasized that it won’t be much of a fight, as they will likely just spar around a little bit. Romney and Holyfield both agreed to participate in this charity event in support of Charity Vision. Salt Lake Tribune reports that Bill Jackson, a retired physician, founded Charity Vision—which aims to end curable blindness in developing countries—while serving as a mission president in the Philippines for the Church. After seeing impoverished areas suffer from the lack of medical care, he decided to do something about it. The foundation oversees about 40,000 surgeries each year, working with only a $1 million annual budget.

The Romney and Holyfield matchup won’t be the only fight of the night as the event will feature fights between real professional boxers as well. The charity event is a black-tie affair and the guests will be served heavy hors d’oeuvres. Romney explained the event, saying,

[pull_quote_center]We just thought it would be a lot better to provide this kind of entertainment rather than just have dinner and listen to speakers.[/pull_quote_center]

The charity fight will take place at the Rail Event Center in Salt Lake City on Friday, May 15, 2015. The event kicks off at 6 PM with the first fight starting at 6:30 PM. The official weigh-in for the fight will take place Thursday, May 14, 2015 at Xcel Fitness in Salt Lake City.