Posted on
Elloy Amiatu has seven weeks of training under his belt and he’s as “ready as I’m ever going to be” for the November 10 boxing bout to raise funds for autism awareness and understanding.
“I am super nervous, but the excitement is starting to creep in,” Elloy says before he hops into the ring to fine-tune his technique ahead of the Fight Fit for Autism challenge at the Pavilion in Kensington.
Elloy: fighting fit for autism.
“Week seven of training saw me find my groove again with my energy back and my body finally starting to feel good (as good as my 40 year old body can feel)!
Eye is healing well from training knock
“My eye has healed really well (from a training mishap) so it’s all systems go for Friday. I’ve put in the hard yards and have prepared as best as I can so bring it on!
“Much respect to all Fight Fit challengers. It has been one of the hardest things that I’ve done and I know everyone has put in as much effort as I have, so good luck to everyone”.
Elloy’s efforts so far have been astounding.
Marching towards $13,000 in donations
After beginning his fund-raising campaign with modest expectations, he is marching towards $13,000.
“I got destroyed at sparring this week, too. Luckily I have time to freshen up a little and work on my sparring flaws.
“More footwork, more head movement and adapting quicker to what is in front of me. I am definitely out of my comfort zone but they don’t call this a challenge for nothing.
Elloy: proud dad
“I will learn and push through. The support from the other Fight Fit challengers is awesome and Fight Fit crew/trainers will make sure I am ready for fight night”.
Fund-raising fighter
Why, exactly is Elloy putting himself through extremes of physical and mental discomfort?
So thankful have Elloy and his family been for the support offered by Amaze through their autism journey that Elloy has decided to engage in the boxing match to raise funds for us.
On his Fight Fit fund-raising page, Elloy says: “I am participating in a boxing challenge through Fight Fit that ends in a three round bout in front of a thousand people.
“I thought it would be a good opportunity to raise some money for Amaze, an organisation that aims to spread awareness and acceptance of autism in the community.
“As many of you know our son Oliver has an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) so this cause is very close to our hearts.
“The more people that know about Amaze, the greater their impact, so please also spread the word by sharing my page with your friends and family. Thank you in advance for your generosity, it means a lot!”
Elloy’s frantic schedule
Elloy is running a frantic schedule to be in peak condition for the November 10 fight.
In addition to his training and family commitments, he’s National Head of Retail Broker Governance/Broker Distribution for ANZ, which he says supports his endeavour through its “purpose to build a world where people and communities thrive”.
“The purpose of the (boxing) challenge is to help the ASD community thrive through raising autism awareness,” Elloy says.
His son Will is also working to raise understanding of autism, having received an overwhelming response to the following video, titled 5 Things About My Brother Ollie
Will was sent this message from a Facebook follower who was inspired by the video: “Get behind Elloy as he raises money
Elloy’s highly motivated.
for Amaze, and awareness of ASD.
“This post is poignant and beautiful, spoken by Elloy’s amazing older son Will about his equally amazing younger brother Ollie.
A whole new awareness of autism
“This post gave me the words to talk to Mitchell about ASD. It gave him a whole new awareness. Thank you”.
Elloy says Will’s video is a must-watch “because this is the reason why this challenge means so much to me and my family.
“I’m a very proud dad”.
He says sponsors have been working hard to make his campaign a success.
“Big thank you to Greek Balance Tours for jumping on as a sponsor,” Elloy says.
“Also special call out to Heang Forbes, Lesley Clark, Simone Tilley and Sophie Maxwell for organising events at ANZ to get behind Fight Fit for Autism. Don’t forget to check out our super sponsors for this challenge, Sean’s Removals