Koch Fight: Derek & Daniel Brawl

No, it really isn't pronounced that way -- but nonetheless, there will be a fight between those dynamic twins Derek and Daniel Koch. Its all for a good cause: the 3rd Annual Fight Night & Poker Tournament benefit for Sunflower Children. The event is co-hosted by Russell Simmons, World Series of Poker winner Jamie Gold, supermodels Paulina Porizkova, Helena Houdova, and Lane Carlson, and gala sponsor, environmentalist, and Wall Street honcho Tim Kelly. This year, the black-tie gala will honor music legend Quincy Jones; it will be held this Friday, November 6, at the Hammerstein Ballroom from 6pm until late. The late-night after-party will be hosted by the twins themselves. Proceeds will support Sunflower Children's SaveABaby initiative. Derek, Daniel, and I had a quick snack and chat yesterday at Cafe Gitane.

Who’s older, and by how much?
Derek: I am, by one minute.

How did you get involved with this event?
Daniel: Our friend Tim Kelly asked us to host the after party, and Derek said let’s do more, let’s fight—that’s something we can sell.
Derek: We’ve always been competitive with each other and with everyone else as well, and we made a deal with Tim. He put us in with a couple of pros to train us for the fight, and we gave up drinking for 60 days. We stopped drinking on September 6.

What’s that like? You have a weekly party—how does not drinking affect that?
Derek: It’s hard. People expect you to stop at their table and have a drink.
Daniel: It’s almost insulting, and we hope people understand, but we stuck to our guns and trained hard. It’s for a great cause.

Have you guys fought competitively before?
Daniel: Well, we’ve always been at each other’s throats, since we were kids.
Derek: We wrestled in college back in Ohio. We’ve been training hard. Tim got us Regilio Tuur and Angel Rivera to train with, and I can’t praise these two guys enough. They’re the consummate pros.

Are you guys really going to go at it and try to win?
Derek: I dare him to try to win . That’s not possible. It’s going to be full on—two rounds, three minutes each, six minutes.

But Daniel seems a bit bigger—maybe 8 to 10 pounds—and he’s younger.
Daniel: That’s right! This is going to be a great event for a great charity. It’s great to raise awareness and help raise money for these children.
Derek: Tim Kelly’s our boy, and we thank him for including us.

You guys are responsible for taking the night out of nightlife. Your Saturday brunches—first at Merkato 55, now at the garden at Revel—have people partying from noon to 6. Is Revel all you do?
Derek: Thank you. Our brand, day and night, also includes our summer party at the Capri hotel in Southampton.
Daniel: We also host a table for our friends on Thursdays at 1Oak.

Who’s going to win the fight?
Derek, Daniel: I will!
Derek: You will just have to show up at the Hammerstein this Friday to find out, won’t you, Steve.