Turns out the community has a soft touch.
That will not be immediately obvious when the competitors rip into each other at the Prize Fight Championship event at the Edgar Centre tonight.
The co-main events should be fiercely competitive.
Timaru’s James Kaihe and Christchurch’s Conor Rock will go at each other and Dunedin’s Matt Eden will put his International Sport Karate Association South Island light heavyweight title belt on the line against Canterbury’s Ben Langford.
Dunedin’s Hayley Kettings and Wānaka’s TheFoster will also pit their skills against each other in the only female bout of the night.
But organiser Nick Taylor said there was more riding on the event than pride and a title belt.
Almost all of the money raised will be donated to Otago Community Hospice.
"This is pretty much a full charity event," Taylor said.
"We are trying to raise as much money as we can."
Taylor said the hospice was always in need of funding and it is a charity close to his heart.
"I’ve had family members volunteer at the hospice for years, so it is a great cause. And I think every one has been to a hospice to visit a family member or a friend and it is just a very worthy cause."
Eden has multiple weight division belts but this is his first defence of this title.
"He has already established himself as pretty much the best in the South Island and Ben is an up-and-coming fighter in that division. And from here we are certainly looking at trying to get a national title fight here or get on bigger promotions."
There are 14 fights on the card. The first bout is scheduled to get under way at 6.30pm.
