Greg Pisk is expecting the annual Crosstown Boxing Smoker, now in its fifth year, to be the biggest one to date.

The event is scheduled for Thursday at the Flathead County Fairgrounds Trade Center.

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with boxing at 6:30.

The fight card will have 15 bouts, featuring boys and girls from Flathead Valley high schools. Each bout will consist of three one-minute rounds.

Tickets are $20 for ringside, adult general admission is $15 and student general admission is $10. Tickets can be purchased in advance at Universal Athletic Service, Pro-Build and Twisted Bliss or at the door the night of the event.

More than 1,400 people attended last year’s smoker.

“We expect to exceed that this year,” Pisk said.

“(The kids who box) absolutely love it. We have a lot of kids who sign up year after year and look forward to it every year.”

Pisk, the event organizer, says the smoker has raised more than $50,000 to date. That money has been donated to Bigfork, Columbia Falls, Flathead and Glacier high school wrestling programs and to Little Guy programs in Evergreen and Kalispell.

Money raised is used for camp and college scholarships, second-day meals for the high school teams, to purchase equipment like computers to video tape matches and to stipend extra coaches.

Pisk’s interest in wrestling dates back to his high school days. He won a state title in 1982, wrestling at 138 pounds for Flathead.

And it doesn’t end there. His son Riley, who graduated two years ago from Glacier, was a two-time state placer.

“When we would go out of town for wrestling, a lot of these kids would have to take care of their own meals, bring sack lunches,” Pisk said.

“Some kids couldn’t afford to bring anything. That kind of bothered me, I knew we could do better.”

That prompted this fundraiser.

Pisk said it was an easy sell the first year to the wrestling programs at Flathead and Glacier.

He said 1,100 people packed Gardner Auction for the first smoker.

“We had 300 people who couldn’t get in,” he said.

“We didn’t have the room.”

The next year it was moved to the Expo Building at the fairgrounds. It has been held at the larger Trade Center the last two years.

“We invite all the kids who want to box,” Pisk said.

“We required them to go through three practices with Phil Moore of the Flathead Boxing Club. He has helped us since Day 1. He has been a great supporter.”

Pisk said Burton Boxing helped in previous years.

Bigfork’s wrestling program was involved with the smoker for the first time last year. Whitefish has joined this year.

“It’s a great community, family event,” Pisk said.

“We have a lot of fun.”