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Tuesday, March 19, 2024
The Observer

Bengal Bouts complete semifinal rounds

Ryan Duffey fought a clean match from start to finish using his slight reach and accurate jab to pick off the advances of the aggressive Bobby Gorynski. Round one featured mostly traded jabs and only a few power punches. Duffey's punch count was higher in combos in the first round. Gorynski took the fight to Duffey near the end of the first, but Duffey replied well to every advance of Gorynski.Gorynski came out with a strong combo to start round two and initiated several exchanges early in the round. Duffey sent a number of stiff jabs at the ever-advancing Gorynski and remained composed throughout the round. In round three, Gorynski was throwing more punches per combo, and Duffey chose to move and counterpunch throughout the round. Duffey's jabs continued on Gorynski, but the junior was not dismayed and continued to advance with three and four-punch combos throughout the round. Duffey took the split decision in the even bout.Tim Huml and Corey Harkins complemented each other well in the second match of the 153-pound class. The match was evenly fought and the boxers checked each other well early on in the first round. They traded jabs throughout the first, and it was a technical round of boxing as both moved well and kept their form.In the second round, Harkins was coming on strong and advanced on Huml well. Harkins had a solid score late in the round, but the second round proceeded much as the first with good exchanges. Neither boxer dominated the match.A strong right at the start from Harkins sent Huml back a bit. Both boxers worked hard the entire fight, continually exchanging and initiating contact. Overall, it was an extremely close fight with the split decision going to Harkins.

155 poundsJunior captain Nathan Lohmeyer took the fight to Mark Basola early and was relentless in pursuing his opponent to start round one. Lohmeyer scored early with numerous punch combos and worked Basola around the ring to several ropes. Lohmeyer matched every one of Basola's punches with three of his own and constantly initiated contact. Lohmeyer closed hard and fast and scored in a quick combo to end the round.In round two, Lohmeyer pursued Basola again and landed on a number of high punch combos early on. Basola fought well throughout the second in reply to Lohmeyer's attacks.Nathan set the pace again in the third by attacking hard early. A stop was called at 23 seconds into the round to clean Basola's blood. Basola came on strong after the break and initiated contact. Though Basola found himself backpedaling a bit too much at the end of the round, he fought well against the junior captain. The decision was unanimous to Lohmeyer.Junior Mike Panzica overcame Brandon Gasser to earn his first trip to the finals where he will face Lohmeyer. Gasser was composed as the match began and smartly selected his punches. Panzica threw more often and scored well on a combo at 40 seconds into the round. When Gasser stuck with his jabs he fought well. The first 30 seconds were intense as Panzica came out hard and scored early, but Gasser was not to be outdone and followed with an excellent counter combo.Panzica initiated contact more, but Gasser found success relying on his parry and replying with straight one-two's. Round three started out fast again as Gasser pursued Panzica. Late in the round, Gasser worked Panzica to the ropes and landed a hard right but took a few from Panzica in the exchange. Gasser needed a quick cleanup after his offensive, and the round ended with a fast exchange with solid contact. This was a close fight, and Panzica won in a split decision.

160 poundsColin Kerrigan is once again in the Bengal Bouts finals after securing a split decision win over Alex Roodhouse. Early exchanges went in Kerrigan's favor as he attacked high and low on Roodhouse. Kerrigan moved his head well, making him a difficult target. His jab was solid throughout the round, as well. Roodhouse often initiated contact, but Kerrigan was successful in countering and moving.Round two began intensely with a solid 20-second exchange and neither fighter dominating. After the intense beginning, the boxers traded jabs well. The second round finished with clean, technical boxing. A hard shot by Kerrigan began the final round and he continued with good combos that elicited little reply from Roodhouse. Kerrigan went back to working the body and head in combination.Both boxers worked hard throughout the third round, exchanging often and displaying their superior conditioning. Roodhouse fought well, but he took some hard shots to both the head and body throughout the fight. The split decision went to Kerrigan. Veteran boxer Bill Phillip will experience the two-minute rounds of the finals for the first time in his Bengal Bouts career after winning a unanimous decision victory over junior Justin Alanis. Alanis initiated contact well and held the ring early on, forcing Phillip to move around him and select his punches from the outside. Though Alanis initiated, Philip often finished the exchanges throwing the extra, scoring punch as Alanis broke contact. Phillip seemed he was willing to take a punch or two to set up his multi-punch, scoring combinations.Round two began with a hard exchange in which both boxers took some serious shots. Phillips' one-two landed accurately late in the second, and he scored in nearly every combo. In round three, Phillip was scoring in spite of Alanis' advances. As the round continued Phillip found more scores, particularly over the dropping hands of Alanis. Alanis left it all in the ring last night, but Phillip's ability to finish off exchanges overcame the hardworking junior.