This article has been updated since it first appeared online.
Light heavyweight fighters Eric Hadley and Allan “Shy” Johnson battled for four rounds during the 2025 Boxing Smoker at Benedictine. (Photo courtesy Benedictine Schools of Richmond)
On Saturday, March 7, 16 professional boxers will swagger into the McMurtrie-Reynolds Pavilion on the campus of Benedictine College Preparatory in Goochland for the annual Boxing Smoker. Each will have a lot to lose, but even more to gain. These eight fights are professionally sanctioned bouts featuring serious contenders trying to defend their permanent records.
“There will be eight action-packed fights [between] people from all over the Mid-Atlantic Region,” says Eric Ash, matchmaker and manager at the Richmond-based River City Promotions. The feature fights include rising stars Isaiah Carr (8-0-0), Zakary Draego (5-0-0) and Andrew Kim (3-0-0). Kim is based in Richmond and trains at Vintage Boxing Gym, as does Carmen Gulliksen (2-2-0). Another of the night’s contenders, Yasin Subhanallah, is a former Golden Gloves amateur champion who will be making his professional debut.
River City Promotions’ Eric Ash and Liz Cane with fighter Tyrell Boyd (Photo by D. Hunter Reardon)
Ash, a Mechanicsville native, has been putting on professional fights with his partner and fellow promoter, Liz Cane, since 2022. “We’ve signed about 20 very high-level boxers, and we’re all over the place,” Ash says. He and Donato De Martiis, the fellow co-founder of Ashenelli management, have organized fights in Colombia, Albania, Italy, Pakistan, Argentina, Egypt, Turkey and Spain in the past year.
But there’s something special about promoting the Boxing Smoker at Benedictine, which has slowly grown into what may be the biggest fight night in the metro Richmond area. “This is my favorite, because I’m trying to build a legacy,” Ash says. “I want people here at home to know about River City Promotions.”
The idea for the Boxing Smoker was born in the mid-2000s, when Benedictine graduate PJ Gallagher was a young professional working at Dominion Payroll. He wanted to give back to his alma mater, “but I didn’t have the money to give,” he says.
“I’d been to some of these boxing events with [fellow alumni] Pete Gambardella and Bill Kastelberg, and we kind of put our heads together,” Gallagher says. “It took a couple of years to convince a Catholic boys’ school that it was a good idea to have an event with ... cigars and boxing, but we tried to show them, ‘Hey, there’s a path for us to do this the right way.’”
Founder Pete Gambardella (with co-founder PJ Gallagher to his right) speaks to the crowd at the 2025 Boxing Smoker. (Photo courtesy Benedictine Schools of Richmond)
In 2011, the organizers assembled some collegiate boxers through a contact at Virginia Military Institute and put on the first fight night. Gallagher wasn’t immediately sure that it had been a success. “Nothing worked,” he recalls. “We were storing [drinks] in bathtubs, and it was leaking all over the floor.”
“The first time we had sponsors, we gave them what we thought was a great deal: ringside tables,” Gambardella says. “We had no idea that meant they would be sitting amongst the fight judges and the doctors, who are required to sit there.”
Around 200 people showed up — a good group, but nowhere close to the capacity crowds that have thronged the Benedictine venue in recent years. In 2010, the event raised around $60,000; in 2026, sponsorships alone will raise close to $250,000.
“The Boxing Smoker is an incredibly unique event that allows our alumni and guests to connect with the school in a joyful and charitable way,” says Jesse Grapes, president of the Benedictine Schools of Richmond. “The competitive and sporting atmosphere reminds them of their days as a Cadet, and the fellowship is off the charts.”
So how did a little fundraiser become the prestigious present-day Boxing Smoker?
“The first emcee of the event was a gentleman by the name of Manny Green, who got us connected with [Richmond Virginia Audio Visual],” Gallagher says. “They are committed to improving it. They bring us ideas we don’t have to ask for. Six or seven years ago, it was, ‘Can we add smoke machines?’ Now, we’ve got an LED wall where the boxers come out.
“It’s not a couple of guys in the ring with a microphone. It’s lights and videos and music, as close to HBO Friday night fights as you’re going to get,” he adds. “We’re always asking, ‘How do we make things pop a little bit more?’”
One way was to take off the headgear and bring in professionals.
Southpaw and bantamweight Juan Pablo “Junior” Guillen Arancibia has had five fights in his career and came home with the win after last year’s event. (Photo courtesy Benedictine Schools of Richmond)
The Boxing Smoker traditionally takes place in March, which is a difficult time for collegiate fighters, many of whom are on spring break. Additionally, some organizers strongly advocated bringing in better fighters, despite the higher cost. With pro fights, Ash says, “The longevity of the fights, and the [intensity] of the fights, is much higher.”
In 2021, Ash was renting his ring to the Boxing Smoker, and he told the organizers, “It’ll be a whole lot easier to get people to come and watch if these are real fights.”
“We had lunch with Eric, and he laid out the entire thing on how this worked, and we said, ‘Oh, my God, this is the future,” Gallagher says.
The first year, proceeds from the fundraiser doubled — and, Gallagher says, “The guys who had been beating on us to improve the boxing said, ‘You have cracked the code.’”
“Eric has done such a good job of taking all the boxing questions off our plate,” Gambardella says. “They’ve done a fabulous job of making the event — from a boxing perspective — first class.”
“There’s something about two guys in a ring boxing that fits our school,” Gallagher adds. “It’s gritty, it’s competitive. It’s a sport of determination — of one man doing what he can. It takes heart, spirit and fight.”
“It’s still a fundraiser. It’s grossed over $2 million for the school,” Gambardella says, “but it’s becoming a true community event.”
The 16th annual Boxing Smoker takes place from 6:30 to 11 p.m. on Saturday, March 7, at Benedictine College Preparatory. Tickets and fundraising sponsorships start at $200.
Never miss a Sunday Story: Sign up for the newsletter, and we’ll drop a fresh read into your inbox at the start of each week. To keep up with the latest posts, search for the hashtag #SundayStory on Facebook and Instagram.
