The last time Augie T (for Tulba) played the Blaisdell Arena, he was 16 and competing in a championship fight for the Golden Gloves title.

He lost.

"It was in the round (the boxing ring was in the center of the arena) and I got knocked down by this Filipino kid. I never was able to redeem myself," said Augie, a popular stand-up comic and radio personality.

At 38, Augie gets another shot tonight — without the gloves. He'll stage a comedy concert, again in the round, this time in a better situation to do good.

He hopes for an SRO crowd, but a TKO will do nicely.

"We've sold out the bottom seats, and now selling the upper seats," he said. "Not bad for a local comic playing Blaisdell."

Augie is particularly proud of the power of his punch now. "Proceeds will help my Speak the Dream Foundation," he said of the evening. The foundation, created by Augie and his wife, Kimberly, assists high school seniors with financial aid to pursue their goals.

"Scholarship? I never won a scholarship," Augie said of his high school days, when he struggled with dyslexia. "I almost never graduated (from Farrington)."

That's why the concert, called "The Main Event," is near and dear to his heart. "I'm doing something cool for high school kids. I feel like I've been blessed to perform. How can I give back? How can I make this rewarding? At the end of the night, I make people laugh. In the end, it's all for me. Though I get feedback from people, telling me that when I talked about my (gay) son, it helped them. But we're raising scholarship bucks."

The foundation will award scholarships to students from five schools: Honoka'a High on the Big Island, Baldwin High on Maui, Wai'anae High, Kaua'i High and Moloka'i High.

To ensure awareness for his campaign, Augie enlisted 22 sponsors to enable high schoolers to attend his concert. His Web site, www.augietulba.com, flags opportunities for college funding. "What's hard is to get kids to the Web site, to check us out," he said.

He asked entrepreneur Tom Moffatt to help promote his first endeavor at the Blaisdell Arena. "For a local comic, it's a big goal," he said. "I remember the first time I was in the arena was when I saw C&K (Cecilio and Kapono) perform. The first time I saw a comic was Eddie Murphy. Whoa, I thought; if Eddie can do it, I can try."

He said opportunity is part of obtaining a goal.

"I'm not the richest person, but if I can give a young kid who is growing up in the same situation I grew up, there's hope," said Augie. "I see myself as the everyday local guy."

His observations on other topics: