Brooklyn Tech Grad Boyd Melson Fighting at Barclays

New York, NY (October 18, 2012) – With four world title bouts scheduled and an undercard stacked with elite talent kicking off boxing’s debut at the Barclays Center, Captain Boyd “Rainmaker” Melson understands they’ll be a ton of people watching him Saturday evening. Additionally, Golden Boy Promotions Founder and boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya announced that he’s personally contributing to Justadollarplease.org, the charity Melson’s donated all of his fight purses to.

“There’s definitely a lot of pressure on me for this fight but I’m far more excited than nervous, especially after Oscar announced at the press conference that he’s helping Justadollarplease.org,” said Melson, who twice fought on big cards headlined by world title matchups. “This is something different than ever before because I’m going to be a part of history and people have been talking about the first fight card at the Barclays Center as long as I can remember.”

To ensure he’s sharp as a razor inside the squared circle, Melson returned to the gym just three days after dominating Yolexcy Leiva on September 22. Against Leiva, Melson displayed drastic improvements from his prior bout, but knows he’ll have to be even better when he fights in front of a packed house in his native Brooklyn.

“It’s an honor to be fighting on the same night as some of the sport’s top talents,” said Melson, who attended Brooklyn Technical High School, which is a five minute walk from the Barclays Center. “There are a lot of people coming to see me fight and all of the other fighters on the card have large fan bases too. I can’t wait to go out and give the fans a great performance. I’ve never been this excited before!”

Melson battles tough New Yorker Jason Thompson, who fought six undefeated opponents, and his full fight purse will once again go to Justadollarplease.org to support bringing clinical trials to the United States to help cure Spinal Cord Injuries.

In association with the 501 (C) 3 nonprofit Justadollarplease.org, Melson and his best friend Christan Zaccagnino created Team Fight to Walk, whose mission is to raise awareness within the boxing community as well as the entire nation about the importance of bringing Clinical Trials to the United States to help cure Spinal Cord Injuries. Team Fight to Walk is comprised of Melson, Zaccagnino, former Rutgers football player/ESPY honoree Eric LeGrand, two-time cruiserweight champion Steve “USS” Cunningham, title contender DeAndre “The Bull” Latimore, Edgar “El Chamaco” Santana, Hector “Machito” Camacho Jr., 2008 US Olympians Demetrius “Boo” Andrade and Shawn Estrada along with prospects Sid “The Messenger” El Harrak, Jeff “TNT” Spencer, Denis “Da Momma’s Boy” Douglin, Will “Power” Rosinsky, Floriano “Italiano” Pagliara, Danny “Little Mac” McDermott, Vinny “The Lion” O’Brien, Ahmed “Prince of Egypt” Samir and Delen “Sniper” Parsley.

For more information or to make a donation, go to teamfighttowalk.com or Justadollarplease.org. All specific questions about the nature of the Clinical Trial to cure Spinal Cord Injury can be sent to boydmelson@yahoo.com.