Lions Den to Host Kleen Fundraiser

The Lions Den of Middletown, Conn. announced today it will be giving back to the families of the six men who tragically lost their lives in the Kleen Energy Plant explosion with an amateur boxing fundraiser event on June 26th. The Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford will be hosting the event.

Feb. 7, 2010, is a day that will never be forgotten in Middletown. At approximately 11:20 a.m., a massive gas explosion took the lives of 6 men and injured 12 more at the Kleen Energy Plant on River Road in Middletown. The blast was felt as far away as Naugatuck. The six men killed were: Raymond Dobratz Jr., 58, Old Saybrook; Peter C. Chepulis, 48, Thomaston; Ronald Crabb, 42, Colchester; Chris Walters, 48, Florissant, Mo; Roy Rushton, Hamilton, Ontario; and Kenneth Haskell, 37, Durham, N.H.

Stepping in to help these families during their time of need is Lions Den owner and president, Doug Cartelli, who said it was necessary for his gym and fellow Middletown residents to come together and “Fight the Good Fight” for these families that have experienced a “tremendous loss.”

Cartelli, and longtime friend and former cruiserweight boxing contender, Craig Salamone, Lions Den vice president of operations, have been working hard to develop a fundraiser to give back to the families

“The city called me looking for donations for the families of the power plant explosion victims because it’s putting together a big dinner event on April 17th at Middletown High School,” Cartelli said. “This fundraiser dinner gave me an idea and I started thinking and called back and met with John Milardo of the Middletown Park and Rec. ‘Why don’t we take it one step further and bring the whole community together with this amateur boxing event?’ So that’s what we’re doing. I let John Milardo know that these events can raise a lot of money, and as John stated; "we can give back to the families that just lost their providers, just lost their loved ones and don’t have anything coming in.  Let’s make them some money, and in the process, do something a lot bigger to bring everyone together.”

The June 26th boxing event will feature Middletown’s and surrounding areas’ finest men and women from city and labor organizations. Those already committed to the event include Middletown police, fire department and emergency rescue. Other agencies expected to participate are city workers, construction tradespersons, and private citizens.

The participants will spar in the 24-foot boxing ring. In order to fill the bout card, amateur boxers from the Champions of Life program at the Lions Den and others will be added to the event. The boxers will be divided into two teams, a “red” team and a “blue” team. The red team will be trained and coached by the Lions Den’s Johnny Callas and John “Iceman” Scully. Callas is a former three-time all-American collegiate boxer with Central Connecticut State University and after a successful amateur career went on to run the Charter Oak boxing club in Hartford and helped develop more than 70 Junior Olympic boxing champions. He is now the head boxing coach for the Champions of Life program at the Lions Den. Scully has over 26-years of boxing experience and is the lead boxing instructor at the Lions Den. Scully became the first boxer from Connecticut to make the U.S. Olympic trials, where he captured a bronze medal in the 165-pound class. Scully has won the New England middleweight title, the WBF Intercontinental super-middleweight title, and twice fought for the light-heavyweight championship of the world.

The blue team will be trained and coached by Cartelli, Salamone and Tommy Lombardo.

Cartelli hopes to have the victims’ family members honored and present at the event. Ed Riley President of Hartford Building Trades has also offered a strong commitment in helping with this fundraiser.

For more information on how to become a sponsor or participate in the event please contact Doug Cartelli or Craig Salamone at the Lions Den, 860-613-2394. The majority of proceeds will be donated to the benefit of the families affected by this tragedy. Ticket prices for the event are $25 general admission and $45 for ringside reserve. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the first fight scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m.