By Madison Butkus
Hometown Weekly Reporter
This month, thirty women will be fighting for a cure, literally, in the annual Haymakers for Hope Belles of the Brawl charity boxing event. Among these thirty brave fighters is Needham resident Holly Khachadoorian-Elia.
On Thursday, October 10th at the well-known MGM Music Hall in Fenway, Khachadoorian-Elia will be stepping into the ring at this year’s event to combat cancer and raise money for their main beneficiary, The Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Jen Streletsky of DPA Communications went on to explain, “Since its initial event in 2011, Haymakers for Hope has raised more than $32 million for cancer research, awareness, survivorship, and care. The organization has transformed more than 1,200 ordinary participants into extraordinary amateur fighters. The women gearing up for their boxing debut at this years’ ‘Belles of the Brawl,’ have raised over $330,000 and counting!”
Khachadoorian-Elia was originally inspired to join Haymakers for Hope by her husband Chris Elia and current boxing coach Jess Smith. She had known Smith ten years prior to saying yes to this event and was able to learn all about it through her. Having no previous boxing experience, Khachadoorian-Elia knew this would be a hard journey but was ultimately up for the challenge.
While participating in this type of event is no small feat, Khachadoorian-Elia has a multitude of reasons as to why she wants to fight. On her donation page, she explains that she is fighting for her Mom, Barbara Khachadoorian, who is a two-time cancer survivor; her family in which she has lost both of her Godparents to cancer; her friends, many of which have been diagnosed with cancer at such young ages; and her patients that she sees diagnosed with cancer as an Ob/Gyn Physician. Combined with these reasons, Khachadoorian-Elia additionally wanted to prove to herself that she can accomplish this boxing journey at her age.
“It is always good at certain times,” Khachadoorian-Elia detailed, “to get yourself out of your comfort zone. I think that that is how we continue to evolve and prove ourselves. I think that that is one other reason why I thought that at this juncture of my life, it would be important to do something kind of challenging. This particular event is so motivating just because you’re truly trying to knock out cancer, literally with a boxing match, which is pretty symbolic I think.”
In preparation for this big event, Khachadoorian-Elia has been training one-on-one with Smith through a vigorous four-month training cycle. The type of workout schedule and diet change she has taken on has proven to be a major adjustment for her. “This has probably been the most physically and emotionally demanding experience,” Khachadoorian-Elia explained, “since my residency. I think that learning to believe in yourself has been very meaningful to me. Knowing that everytime that you doubt yourself, you’re doing this for such a good cause and for so many people that are so important to you has been a blessing. This sucks, but it is definitely not surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and all of those things. As grueling as the training has been, everytime I think about those things, I realize that I get to do this. I am healthy and I am lucky enough to get to do this for such an incredible cause.”
Haymakers for Hope Belles of the Brawl fights are scheduled for three, two-minute rounds in which each fighter has been paired up to conduct in an evenly fair match. Khachadoorian-Elia detailed that each woman is placed together based on age, weight and height. As this is a charity event focused on raising money, organizers want each fight to be fair with no real harm or damage being placed on one another. While matchups have been made up since May, things could change after the sparring day that happens before the official event.
Khachadoorian-Elia is very much looking forward to this boxing match and has many fans who will be cheering her on, whether that be in person or virtual. Her mother Barabara will be watching online, while her husband Chris and two children Jack and Vanessa Elia will be sitting in the crowd along with thirty five other family members, friends and colleagues.
For more information about Haymakers for Hope, Belles of the Brawl, or to donate to Khachadoorian-Elia cause, please visit her donation page at: https://tinyurl.com/hollyhaymakers.
