Battersea boxer Bentley to donate money from biggest fight of his life to St Vincent Volcano relief

By Tallulah Taylor

Battersea boxer Denzley Bentley will donate 10 per cent of the purse from the biggest fight of his life to St Vincent Volcano relief effort.

The British middleweight champion and Commonwealth contender wants to help those affected by the volcanic eruption.

The 26-year-old has pledged to donate 10 per cent of his fight purse to the fundraising effort.

Bentley will defend his British title on Saturday against the Commonwealth champion Felix Cash at York Hall in London, which will be broadcast live via BT sport.

The volcanic eruption on the island of St Vincent has resulted in thousands of people being displaced, children being moved into shelters and an acute water shortage.

The United Nations has appealed for $29.2m to help St Vincent to recover from the devastating continuous volcanic eruptions which have displaced 20 percent of people on the island in the southern Caribbean.

There are over 12,700 evacuees registered in public shelters and homes.

The designated red zone in St. Vincent and the Grenadines tells a powerful story of the devastation caused by the La Soufriere volcano. @UNICEFECA Representative, Dr Aloys Kamuragiye visited the red zone in St Vincent and the Grenadines to have a firsthand look. pic.twitter.com/lWdzG6SFQH

— UNICEF Eastern Caribbean (@UNICEFECA) April 19, 2021

Entire villages have been covered in ash, buildings damaged and schools and businesses closed, crops and livestock destroyed and residents left with limited access to clean drinking water, says the UN.

Didier Trebucq, the UN resident coordinator for Barbados and the eastern Caribbean, described the scene as “apocalyptic” during a news conference in St Vincent.

Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said that rebuilding will run “in the hundreds of millions of dollars” on top of “massive” humanitarian relief needs but they are still quantifying the damage.

“It is for a vital cause,” said Bentley. “They need our help because of this terrible tragedy and the main social income is from tourism.

“Without tourists coming in there is no money and the island has just been through a horrendous experience, the sort of which we can only imagine the horror.

“So I felt this is the right thing for me to do. The children need our help and thousands of families need to relocate.

“It is the least I can do to help and if anybody is able to join me, please click the link for all the details of how to donate.”