LYNN — Melissa Waldron and Nicole Marshall have a personal stake in the fight against cancer.
Marshall fought it successfully when she was younger and now, at age 41, she’s ready for Round 2. But at least this time, she’s fighting for the cause, rather than for her life.
She’ll be fighting Wednesday, Oct. 9, as part of the Haymakers for Hope boxing card at the House of Blues on Lansdowne Street in Boston. The organization stages boxing matches with the proceeds going toward cancer research.
Right there next to Marshall will be her friend since childhood, Melissa Waldron. And Waldron has her own skin in the game. Her father, Jerry, was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year.
“I had cancer when I was younger, and the experience inspired me to give back,” said Marshall, who played girls basketball at Lynn Classical (along with Waldron). “I was diagnosed when I was 27, only a month after my son was born.”
Waldron, who comes from an athletic family (her father, brother Jeff, and sisters Susan, Wendy and Katie were all high school athletes), says Marshall inspired her to do this.
“It was really a no-brainer for me,” said Waldron. “The week I signed up for this was the same week my father was diagnosed.”
Training for the upcoming fight has been fun, for the most part, they say.
“But the fun we have once we get here more than makes up for the nights I don’t want to come here,” Marshall said.
“We have to remind ourselves why we’re doing this,” said Waldron.
They train on the third floor of an old warehouse off Pulaski Street in Peabody, run by Russell Kimber, whose father, Dick, was a successful kick boxer in the 1990s. Their association happened almost by accident.
“We reached out to him on a Friday night because our previous trainer didn’t show up,” Waldron said. “So there we were. We’d followed him on Instagram, and he was a Classical graduate too. So we called him, and he came down in a half-hour.
“It’s been a great, positive experience,” she said.
Right now, they say, they’re still a work in progress. And they both admit they are nervous.
“My mom (Doris) refuses to go to the fight,” Waldron said. “She’s so scared that I’m going to get beaten up.”
The fight consists of three two-minute rounds. And lest anyone think that’s not a big deal, Waldron and Marshall both disagree.
“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” said Waldron.
‘I played sports forever,” said Marshall. “And it’s the hardest thing, physically and mentally.”
Waldron acknowledges that as the match grows closer, their focus has intensified. But it wasn’t always that way.
“There was a time, about halfway through, where I thought ‘I don’t want to do this anymore.’ But then I thought of how much I’ve raised ($28,925.38, well above her goal of $10,000), and all the times I’ve rushed through traffic, and I realized I had to go through with it.”
As for Marshall, “I am inspired by my experiences. For me, going through the treatments was not as bad as it could have been, but it’s still cancer. And I realize I’m lucky to be alive.”
Haymakers for Hope pairs fighters of similar sights, condition and weights against each other so that there’s no visible danger that any of the boxers will be overmatched. Waldron will be paired with Jen Szegda, who is 42 to Waldron’s 41; and of similar weight. Marshall will go up against Melissa Symes, who is also 41 and only five pounds heavier.
Whatever happens, both will be very happy when this ends.
“I already feel as if I’ve accomplished something very special,” Waldron said.
