LOS ANGELES (MAY 20, 2025) — Ahead of “Championing Mental Health: A Night of Boxing,” taking place this Thursday, May 22 at the historic Avalon Hollywood, fighters competing at the event took place in the official open media workout today at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood. An innovative night for boxing, this groundbreaking event is dedicated to mental health awareness in the sport, and all athletes participating will receive one year of free access to therapy through Athletes for Hope in collaboration with the World Boxing Council (WBC).
The night of action will be broadcast live on DAZN at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT and features talented boxers from the Southern California area including Jonny “Magic” Mansour (4-0, 2 KOs), Ricardo Ruvalcaba (13-0-1, 10 KOs), Jessie Mandapat (9-1-1, 5 KOs) and Vic Pasillas (17-1, 10 KOs).
Tickets are on sale now and available at www.555media.com/tickets.
Here’s what the competitors had to say:
Jonny Mansour:
“Mental health awareness is a very big thing. I’ve seen it firsthand because I’ve spent hours and hours every single day inside the hospital with my mom, who is battling cancer. Many people tend to want to give up when life becomes difficult. In my career, I’ve had many times when I felt like giving up, but the hardest times always led to the greatest moments. This fight means a lot, and I’m going to continue to lead by example and bring awareness to mental health.”
“The fans can expect a much better, much improved Jonny. I’m getting better every single fight. My saying is to become 1% better every single day. That’s all I’ve been doing. I’m excited for this fight to come so I can go out there and prove that.”
Ricardo Ruvalcaba:
“This fight means a lot. I’ve been in training camp for about five months now because fights keep getting postponed. But we’re finally here, just a few days out before the fight, and I’m excited. I had a great training camp, sparring with world champions like Rolly Romero. There are a bunch of great workers here at Wild Card Boxing Club.”
“Spreading mental health awareness is very important, and I’m happy that this event will shine a light on the importance of it.”
Vic Pasillas:
“My team and I have done everything this training camp to prepare. I am so dialed in, and everything went well. We had great sparring partners, and I have the best coaches in the world. Every professional should have a great team and put in that work. We say the fight is already won, we’re just here to collect.”
“It means the world to be a part of this event because it’s for an important cause. The fans can expect great boxing and an exciting match-up.”
Jessie Mandapat:
“Fight camp has been amazing. I’ve been training here with Freddie Roach. This is my first camp here at Wild Card Boxing Club. We’re putting a lot of work in. It’s crazy how God is really working in our lives right now. I’m just excited to put on a show for everybody.”
“It’s really awesome what this event stands for. Fighters being able to access mental health therapy for a full year is special. It’s not something we talk about as fighters, the importance of mental health. The boxing gym is where a lot of kids go to escape whatever is at home, so it’s great to fight for this cause and the community.”
Brook Sibrian:
“This camp has been a continuation. I fought in January and lost, and then immediately got back to work. We decided to take another fight in April, and I won via first round knockout. I returned to camp that Monday and was presented with this opportunity. I’ve been taking care of my recovery to ensure I can do this year-round.”
“This is a great opportunity, and I love talking about the importance of mental health. I try to utilize my platform as much as possible for that. Fighters go through so much pressure, so it’s an extremely important event. Boxing is a very dangerous sport that requires you to embrace it, including the pressure.”
