Sartonk and Wu-Tang partner for second annual Ali-King Award

Sartonk has launched the second annual Ali-King Award. Named after Martin Luther King, Jr. and Muhammad Ali, this essay contest is intended to promote literacy and critical thinking among boxing youth. Boxers and aspiring boxing writers are invited to submit essays on one of five topics, ranging from the social significance of boxing to comparative analyses of Ali and King.

“We want to encourage boxers to train their minds, as well as, their bodies,” comments Hasmig Tatiossian, Executive Manager at Sartonk . “By thinking about the lives that Ali and King led, we’d also like them to recognize the links between boxing and social consciousness,” she adds.

The Ali-King Award is sponsored by boxing’s international sanctioning bodies (WBA, IBF, WBO, IBO) as well as, prominent organizations and gyms. This year, Sartonk is proud to announce that the Wu Tang Brand — the official brand of the hip hop pioneers and urban cultural icons — has also decided to sponsor the project. “We’re proud of Wu-Tang’s involvement,” remarks Ed Majian, President at Sartonk . “First, it highlights the cultural relevance of boxing and, second, it speaks to the fact that Wu-Tang, the legendary music phenomenon, champions the virtues of literacy and critical thinking as pathways to personal and social transformation.”

nored at Gleason’s Boxing Gym in Brooklyn, NY, will each receive Sartonk's exclusive Ali-King Statue, a book stipend, and a certificate bearing the logos of all the sponsors. The first place winner will have the opportunity to train and lunch with a former Champion at Gleason’s Gym. “We’re grateful to all of our sponsors for recognizing the importance of this project. A special thanks to Bruce Silverglade, President of Gleason’s, who’s welcomed this project from day one and has generously opened the gym to us,” expresses Tatiossian.

Essay submissions will be evaluated by a panel of judges (TBA) composed of boxing writers, boxers, and educators. They are due by midnight, November 18, 2013.