In the blue corner, Desmond Hill emerged. His competitor, Daryl Ireland, marched into the gymnasium from the red corner.

The crowd cheered with excitement and anticipation as both fighters entered the ring.

It was the first time anyone could see a Muay Thai fight take place in the Garden City. Before last Saturday there had never been a Thai boxing card staged in St. Catharines because it was illegal.

Now the sport is sanctioned by Kickboxing Ontario and approved by the Council of Amateur Sport Kickboxing. When it premiered in St. Catharines last Saturday, it was a battle for a cure.

Thai Boxing Niagara teamed up with the St. Catharines General Hospital Foundation to present Battle for a Cure, a Muay Thai boxing fundraising event with 80 per cent of proceeds going to the foundation.

Kru (teacher) Roger Lumyoung explained local fighters have travelled outside of the region to compete against other clubs in the past, and he decided it was time for them to come to St. Catharines.

"We have clubs from all over today," said Lumyoung, "We even have a club coming in from Newfoundland."

"There are a lot of people here and for a lot of them it's the first time they are experiencing Muay Thai," he said.

Sandra Wilkes, executive director of the St. Catharines General Hospital Foundation, admitted she was a little confused when Lumyoung presented her with the idea to host the event.

"I said, 'Can you please try and explain what you're trying to do?' " said Wilkes.

Like others, it was her first time experiencing the sport on Saturday.

Muay Thai, or "the science of eight limbs," is the national sport of Thailand. It involves the use of hands, elbows knees and kicks, and is considered one of the world's most powerful martial arts.

As a lesson to the crowd, Lumyoung completed a demonstration of the sport before the fights began.

Fighter Desmon Hill also demonstrated the Ritual Dance of Homage, or Wai Khru Rom Muay.

The dance is a traditional ritual where both fighters pay respect to their teachers parents and things they hold sacred, as well as pray for safety and victory.

The fighter, in a kneeling posture with one knee on the ground and the other leg out in front, pivots around on the spot to repeat the same sequence facing all four sides of the ring.

Lumyoung explained that each fighter must perform Wai Khru before each and every bout.

There were eight different fights at the event, which raised over $4,000 for the St. Catharines General Hospital Foundation.

Lumyoung said while it may have been the first sanctioned Muay Thai event in Niagara, it certainly won't be the last.

"There will be another," he said.