The first event since Gateway Cancer Research and Celebrity Fight Night’s merger
The inaugural Gateway Celebrity Fight Night — the newly rebranded charity event that resulted from the 2021 merger of the Celebrity Fight Night Foundation and Gateway for Cancer Research — has announced that multi-platinum international superstar Pitbull will serve as headlining performer for the illustrious event on March 12th in Phoenix, AZ. Tickets are available now.
GRAMMY Award-winning country music superstar Reba McEntire will return to her longtime role as the event’s emcee, where she will oversee the presentation of awards and honors to Celebrity Fight Night founder Jimmy Walker, among others. And event organizers have confirmed additional appearances and performances from Katharine McPhee, The Tenors, The London Essentials, and Musical Director David Foster, as well as some yet-to-be-revealed surprise guests. The black-tie event will feature a cocktail reception, elegant dinner and a live auction with one-of-a-kind luxury items, and all proceeds directly fund clinical research cancer trials.
Founded by Walker in 1994, Celebrity Fight Night quickly became a must-attend annual event, securing support and endorsements from celebrities like David Foster, Reba McEntire, Andrea Bocelli, Billy Crystal, Josh Groban and more. The legendary Muhammad Ali served as the gala’s guest of honor for two decades until his passing in 2016. This year, Jimmy has passed the torch to Gateway’s Founding Chairman and Vice Chair, Richard J Stephenson and Dr. Stacie J. Stephenson, respectively, who are no strangers to organizing glamorous charitable events, having raised more than $95 Million for cancer research over Gateway’s 30-year history. Celebrity Fight Night, whose work has supported a range of worthwhile causes, will now focus its firepower on defeating cancer, aiming to shape a world in which a cancer diagnosis is no longer feared.
Celebrity Fight Night Foundation — an internationally recognized philanthropic organization that generated more than $90 million in charitable funding since its founding — announced the merger with Gateway for Cancer Research last year, after the COVID-19 epidemic resulted in a cancellation of the mainstay event for the second year in a row. Gateway for Cancer Research is a global sponsor of innovative, patient-centric, clinical cancer research, and 99 cents of every dollar Gateway raises directly funds early phase cancer clinical trials at leading research institutions across the country and abroad.
