Ex-Blackpool FC striker Nile Ranger to fight fellow pro and ex-con Jay Emmanuel-Thomas for £500,000
Nile Ranger and Gary Madine will both be fighting at a charity event in London this October.
Two ex-Blackpool strikers will be swapping their boots for gloves as they prepare to step into the boxing ring for the first time.
Ex-Blackpool striker Nile Ranger will be stepping into the ring to fight fellow professional Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, with the pair hoping to raise £500,000 for charity. Ranger and Emmanuel-Thomas will headline Pro Pro Project Promotions’ ‘A Night To Remember III’.
The bout- which is being dubbed the ‘Battle of the Bad Boys’ thanks to both players' criminal backgrounds- will take place at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London on Thursday 22nd October.
Another ex-Blackpool pro will also be stepping into the ring at the event, with Gary Madine facing off against Jamie Sendles-White.
Reacting to the fight’s announcement, Ranger, who spent two years with the Seasiders between 2014 and 2016, said: “I’m talking the talk and I walk the walk sometimes, but on that night, I’m going to walk the walk. Stepping into a different world, the boxing thing, it’s like football, but in a different world and obviously it’s a good cause for charity as well.”
Both men reached the top of English football before serving time in prison. Emmanuel-Thomas for his part in a £600,000 cannabis smuggling plot, and Ranger for online banking fraud.
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Graham Stack, Founder of Pro Project Promotions, added: “This is just one of the stories that sits at the heart of what is being built within the promotion.
“Giving ex-footballers an opportunity to support various causes and, in many cases, help reshape their future by giving them a positive purpose.
“Jay and Nile have both been to prison and both have had to find their way back - and now they're doing that in front of a room full of people raising money for charity - channeling that journey into something positive while making a difference to others.
“Everything raised in the auction, through fundraising, donations and raffles will go straight towards our £500,000 target, and I think this main event is going to make people sit up and pay attention to what we're doing.”
Tickets details and more information can be found here.