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Monday, May 13, 2024
The Observer

Bengal Bouts: Semifinals, 173 pounds

Alex Kissinger def. Kevin ‘The Night Man' Kray
Kissinger opened on the attack, but Kray also landed punches early. Kissinger utilized his strategy of driving the junior into the ropes in the first round. Kray moved constantly, dancing around the ring while throwing occasional punches, hoping to frustrate the senior.
As the second round began, Kissinger again attacked Kray into the ropes; each time Kray moved off the ropes, he played a defensive game.  In the latter part of the round, Kray abandoned throwing punches and evaded Kissinger.

Kissinger continued to play the role of the aggressor and dictate the fight in the third round. He repeatedly drove Kray to the ropes, where he would throw flurries of punches. Near the end of the round Kissinger overpowered Kray at the ropes to the point where Kray nearly fell out of the ring. In the end, Kissinger won by unanimous decision.

Matthew "Cool and Tough" Paletta def. Michael "Nobody Puts Baby in a Corner" Urciouli

Both fighters began the fight biding their time before a flurry of punches opened the sparring, with Urciouli landing the majority. The fight was stopped midway through the first round when the junior Urciouli began bleeding when a previous cut opened up.

The senior Paletta landed more punches than Urciouli at the start of the second round, which was interrupted twice for blood on Urciouli.

In the third round, Urciouli threw lots of punches; despite the volume, Paletta landed more solid punches, forcing the match to be stopped again. The fight continued to be back-and-forth until Paletta landed a body-head-body combination that rattled Urciouli and drew blood again. The referee stopped the match there with 18 seconds left, deciding the match in Paletta's favor.