BIG-hearted boxers are set to battle it out for a brave little boy from Blackburn.

And the parents of little Archie Cottam will be delighted to repay of gratitude to the surgeons who operated on their little battler.

Archie is only 20 months old but due to a congenital cardiac problem, he has endured open heart surgery and a number of keyholder procedures.

Mum Ellie Rhodes said the most complex procedure took nine hours to complete and resulted in her son remaining in intensive care at Alder Hey Children's Hospital for seven weeks.

The couple remained indebted to the skills and dedication of heart experts Mr Ram Dhannapuneni and Dr Arjamand Shauq.

So when they discovered they were involved with Healing Little Hearts, a charity offering similar surgery in developing nations, the pair wanted to contribute.

Arran enlisted the help of Paul Ramsey, who runs his own eponymous kick boxing club, at Brook Mill, in Branch Road, Lower Darwen.

The friends had been involved in arranging boxing fundraisers before and have pulled together a charity spectacular for Saturday, December 14, at Audley Sports Centre.

More than 20 fights have been lined up for the night, which the parents hope will help fund a medical camp for Healing Little Hearts, which could treat half a dozen youngsters at a time. Arran will take on training partner Sean O'Riley.

Paul said: "There are fighters coming in from Burnley, Padiham and Colne, all over East Lancashire."

Archie, who now has a new three-week-old baby brother, Arthur, faces yet more keyhole surgery as he grows up.

Arran, of Lindsifarne Avenue, added: "We've seen our surgeons conducting really long operations and then take part in 10km runs the same day.

"For what they have done for Archie, we just wanted to give something back."

Promoters are still on the lookout for sponsors for the night and Paul can be contacted on 07809 655474. A preview night is planned for the Longshaw Club on Friday.