Daniel Hyzak def. Alex Boll
Hyzak took control from the opening bell, using his longer wingspan to pummel Boll, eventually knocking him to the ground late in the first round. The law student continued to dominate early in the second, but Boll responded late with several sharp jabs of his own. Both fighters appeared to tire in the final round, but Boll went for the win late with several strong punches before the final bell. The junior's late effort was nearly enough, but Hyzak prevailed in a split decision.
Evan "Sting" Wray def. Alex "The Ogre" Szymborski
Both fighters came out aggressively, with the left hand jab of Wray holding off the heavy combos of Szymborski in an evenly contested first round. The pace slowed in the second round, as Wray squeezed in some quick jabs between the freshman's strong handed punches. Both fighters appeared to fatigue in the final round, and neither was able to keep up much of a defense as they swapped vicious, high percentage jabs. In the end, the junior was the last man standing, as Wray won by unanimous decision.
Brian "Caesar" Salat def. David "Tough Actin'" Thaxton
Both fighters began the fight with great energy, swapping a flurry of early punches. The two settled in later in the opening round, as both tried to stay low and attack their opponent's body. Salat was able to distinguish himself in the second round by keeping himself at a distance and landing several blows to his opponents face. The fight was won in third round, where Salat's high energy level allowed him to best a fatigued Thaxton. The sophomore won in a unanimous decision.
Daniel Yi def. Anthony "Takes a Tumble" Pavlov
Freshman Daniel Yi easily defeated junior Anthony Pavlov to win the last match of the day. Yi showed his agility in the first round, landing sharp jabs directly through Pavlov's defense and into his face, while dodging most of the punches thrown at him. Pavlov landed some body blows early in the second, but Yi was able to absorb most of them and fire back with flurries of his own. The referee was forced to stop the fight early in the third, and Yi was declared the winner, ending the long first day of preliminaries.
James Hasson def. Daniel Colston
In a fight that was remarkably even from the outset, both Hasson and Colston landed numerous blows in the first round. Hasson gained the upper hand in the second round, connecting on multiple punches while avoiding almost all those from Colston. In the third and final round, Hasson furthered his advantage as Colston was forced to remain on the defensive for the entire round, unable to mount any sort of offense. This was enough to give Hasson the victory by split decision.
Christopher "Stud" Sarkis v. Karl "The Woodsplitter" Kingery
Sarkis, a sophomore from Fisher, had the upper hand in this fight this fight from the opening bell. Kingery, an off-campus senior, was assaulted from all sides by the powerful Sarkis despite his best efforts to go blow-for-blow. Sarkis landed a big right hook in the first round in addition to multiple smaller combinations. In the second, Kingery walked into a massive right hook from Sarkis and hit the mat hard. The referee stopped the match thirty seconds into the second round, giving a Sarkis a win by the referee stopping the contest.
Jordan Smith def. Robert "The Sledge" Hammer
Both boxers came out with remarkable intensity in the first round as Smith proved slightly more aggressive, while Hammer held his own. Smith was the patient aggressor in the second round, carefully following Hammer around the ring and landing the majority of good blows, including a sharp right to the face that stunned Hammer midway through the round. In the third and final round, Hammer came out with life, absorbing the surgical jabs of Smith and evening up the match, but it would be Smith who prevailed by unanimous decision.
Eric "What the" Frick def. Matt "Welcome to the Thunderdome" Kearney
In a highly anticipated match-up that lived up to its billing, both Frick and Kearney came out hard in the first round, throwing punch after resounding punch at the other with each connecting on his fair share. Frick, however, landed a number of massive combinations that Kearney was unable to escape and finally struck a concussive right hook that stunned the off-campus senior. The fight was stopped after the first round, giving Frick a victory by the referee stopping the contest.
