London's bankers battle to be lord of the ring

Gasping for breath and bleeding from a thick lip, Nick "Suicide" Seto exits the ring. But the pain of defeat will be forgotten tomorrow when he returns to work at a London bank.
"I love winning, so it hurts, but I hope the people enjoyed the show," the 34-year-old said, trying to reassure his trembling wife.
In real life, Seto is a strategy manager at Lloyds Banking Group. But at night, he becomes a fearless and slightly reckless brawler.
He is one of a growing number of city workers who are ditching the tie and lacing up the gloves for "white-collar events" after dark.
Born in New York, the practice came to London in the early 2000s and has since spread to other financial centres such as Hong Kong and Singapore.
Following a brief warm-up, the combatants enter the lion's den accompanied by the booming music, scantily dressed ladies and raucous din usually reserved for world title fights.
They then battle for three rounds, each lasting two minutes, in the professional standard ring.
"It's almost like being a professional boxer for a night," explained Ross Adkin, organiser of the event at York Hall, the fabled London venue whose tobacco-stained walls and creaking floorboards have hosted fights for 85 years.
Around 700 spectators pack the hall to cheer on their friends, husbands and relatives, creating a febrile atmosphere throughout the nine bouts.
"White-collar boxing is growing," said Adkin, immaculately dressed in a three-piece suit. "Even banks organise their own in-house ones."
- 'Different dynamic to a triathlon' -
The audience is predominantly white, male, smartly dressed and loud, many looking like extras from Hollywood movie "The Wolf of Wall Street", while the testosterone-driven atmosphere is evocative of the trading floor.
The evening begins at the bar and after a few pints the blood is pumping.
"There are a few of us here tonight saying that maybe next time it's our turn," said one spectator, financial advisor Alistair Holmes.
At the same time, Frank "The Tank" O'Callaghan was preparing backstage, nervously fiddling with his mobile phone. "I'm very emotionally engaged, as my (pregnant) wife is 10 days overdue," he confessed.
A former soldier now working in telecoms, he began boxing eight months ago.
Since then he has shunned alcohol and woken at five every morning to make the hour-long journey from his home in Brighton, on the south coast, to train in London.
For him, boxing is a way to keep fit, presents a personal challenge and provides the opportunity to blow off steam.
"Our dad died in August," he explained. "His passing away was part of the reason I do this. I turned 45, I had to do something.
"Boxing has a different dynamic to a marathon or triathlon, and I really enjoy it."
Tonight, more than 60 of O'Callaghan's supporters are in the room, including colleagues, friends and his "extremely tense" brother Phil.
His wife is at home waiting for the new arrival. "She is a little bit worried -- there were a couple of tears last night," he admitted.
- 'A dangerous sport' -
O'Callaghan is under no illusions that boxing hurts, and the risk was underlined when a white-collar boxer died in the ring during an event in Nottingham in June.
Following the tragedy, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC) repeated its warning against such bouts.
"We are against white-collar boxing, it is a dangerous sport," general secretary Robert Smith told AFP.
"These white-collar boxing events are people getting in the gym for a month or six weeks and then getting in the ring and they can be hurt."
Adkin shrugged off the warnings, saying that the professional sport was also grappling with similar problems.
"Professional boxing also gets a lot of pressure; doctors come out quite often saying it should be banned. They unnecessarily distance themselves from the amateur stuff trying to save their own skin," he said.
"This is three, two-minute rounds using headguards... the context is safer than pro boxing."
The evening at York Hall ends with a few bruises and a broken nose. "It went well," said Adkin.
Seto may have lost but is delighted with the experience, not least because he has lost a few pounds (kilos) following an "overindulgent" honeymoon.
However, he has promised his new wife that his next challenge will be "less violent".
By contrast O'Callaghan, who celebrated as though winning a World Championship belt, vowed to keep on fighting after the birth of his child.
Source: AFP