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Tech boss turns boxer for Borne charity

Huddersfield tech boss Tim Mercer has signed up for his toughest fundraiser yet, all in aid of the premature birth charity, Borne.

On 19 May, the CEO of cloud technology specialist Vapour will don his boxing gloves and step into the ring for the CRN Fight Night, at The Brewery in London.

A sell out industry event that has raised £220,000 for charity since the contests began in 2008, this is Tim’s first time up against an opponent.

Aware the selection process is notoriously tough, he applied to fight at the start of 2022, before being invited for a nerve-racking assessment. He was one of only 16 UK tech professionals selected, and all eyes are now on the black-tie event to see if Tim ‘No Mercy’ Mercer can bring home the title.

Fighting for the blue team, he will face Paul O’Sullivan, UK sales director at Threatscape, in the red corner.

Travelling to the Ring Boxing Club in Southwark, South London, every week for training, Tim had already upped his fitness regime last year, in preparation for his ‘week of hell’. That particular challenge - which saw him row, cycle, run and climb 286km - was one of his first major fundraisers for Borne back in October.

Since then, he and the Vapour team have raised £8,500 for the charity - and counting - with hopes that Fight Night will get them to £15,000. The ultimate goal is to reach £23,000 before the year is out.

Commenting on his latest challenge, Tim said: “I’m a big boxing fan, so when I saw the application process open for Fight Night, I thought - why not?!

“But when the news dropped that I’d made the lineup, it got real!

“There’s a difference between sparring and going toe to toe with an opponent - as I’ve already learned. But I’m tackling this event just as I would anything else - properly! I’m training hard, eating really well, and improving my technique week by week. I’ve got a table of supporters coming to cheer me on but I hope people will get behind me from a distance too, and dig deep for Borne.”

Over 15 million babies are born too soon every year, and 1 million of those die. Borne is a charity dedicated to saving lives, preventing disability, and creating lifelong health for mothers and babies.

Anyone wishing to sponsor Tim can donate via Vapour’s JustGiving page.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Katie Mallinson .