Boxers advance to final round in Bengal Bouts

135-pounds:

Alex “El Cadejo” Alcantara def. Atticus Coscia

In this contest between sophomores, Alcantara opened the fight on the front foot, landing punches high and low with a high level of intensity to start the bout. Coscia responded with a defensive strategy and kept the fight in the center of the ring; however, Alcantara continued to land one left hook after another to his face. The second round opened with much of the same, as Alcantara got Coscia off his balance early and often. As the second round continued, Coscia worked his way back into the fight by forcing his opponent to the ropes. The trend continued into the third round as Coscia gained a foothold in the match to even terms a little bit. However, Alcantara was too much for Coscia, winning by unanimous decision.

Patrick “Il Lupo” Brennan def. E.J. “Binks” Leppert

The opening of the fight saw little action as the fighters danced around each other before a couple of spurts of action saw Brennan, a sophomore, land a few shots to the head of his junior opponent. Fighting defensively and using his height and reach to his advantage, Brennan paced himself and picked his spots to attack as the second round got going, using Leppert’s slightly more aggressive strategy against him at times. In the third round, both fighters seemed to want to leave a good impression in the judges’ minds and put it all out there in the ring. Though the fight was overall pretty evenly matched, Brennan landed a few more jabs and ultimately secured a split-decision victory.

145-pounds:

Pete “The Wild Irish Rose” McGinley def. Danny “Nacho Tigre” Espinoza

Both fighters came out firing in the opening seconds of the round, and neither seemed to have any defense in mind. The senior McGinley seemed especially interested in going right after his opponent in the first round, furiously attacking the junior Espinoza. The second round opened in exactly the same manner as much of the fight was centered with Espinoza closer to the ropes; every once in a while, McGinley connected with devastating headshots to get on the front foot. Once the third round got going, McGinley forced Espinoza into the corner and put some breathing room between him and his opponent, taking home a unanimous-decision victory to move to the finals.

“Sloppy” Joe Guilfoile def. Robert “R Kelly” Devine

The sophomore and senior seemed very evenly matched in the opening moments of this one, as the entire round took place in the very center of the ring. One the second round got going, however,  Devine came out strong and pushed Guilfoile to the ropes. Guilfoile came back strong as the round progressed, however, connecting on a few shots to the head. Shortly before the bell, the fight was again focused in the center of the ring. The third round took a similar path as the second, seeing Devine force his opponent to the corner but also Guilfoile box his way back to the center. Though the fight was extremely close from beginning to end, it ultimately resulted in a unanimous-decision victory for Guilfoile, who earned his spot in the finals.

149-pounds

Devin “Opel” Duffy def. Luke “Lobos” Kiefer

Duffy, a senior, came out attacking at the beginning of the fight, forcing the junior Kiefer to fight with his back nearly up against the ropes. Kiefer continuously worked himself out of trouble, however, and was able to use his defensive position to his advantage at times. As the second round opened, Duffy again tried to push Kiefer to the ropes, but Kiefer responded with a few punishing hits to the head. In the third round, Duffy’s aggression began to pay dividends. More than once, Kiefer ended up in the corner, and the referee was forced to stop fighting on three separate occasions in the round, ultimately resulting in a unanimous-decision victory for Duffy.



Kieran Carroll def. Garrett “FedEx” Schmelling

The opening of the first round saw these fighters trade punches at the very center of the ring before the sophomore Schmelling forced Carroll, a junior, into the corner. Carroll responded well defensively, however, blocking and even dodging punches at points. In the second round, Schmelling tried on multiple occasions to break through Carroll’s defenses but was unable to, as Carroll held firm throughout in the face of relentless attack. In the third round, Schmelling continued to be aggressive but Carroll’s defensive prowess confirmed his split-decision victory.

158-pounds:

Garrity “Biscuit” McOsker def. Joe “Sully” Sulentic

The bout got off to a slow start as both fighters hesitated to get in the first punches. The sophomore Sulentic was able to throw the first body shots, but senior captain McOsker exercised swift defensive tactics to avoid Sulentic’s advances. Though there were only a few punches initially, the first round ended with McOsker forcing Sulentic against the edge of the ring. McOsker continued to move aggressively through the second round, where he managed to get Sulentic in a hold that forced the referee to stop the fight momentarily. In the third round, Sulentic found a second wind, forcing McOsker against the edge of the ring, however, McOsker used his shorter height to his advantage, ducking the majority of Sulentic’s jabs. Sulentic’s powerful last round was not enough, as McOsker secured the victory by unanimous decision.

Ryan “El Cadejo” Dunn def. Chip Blood

As soon as the bout started, Dunn threw a series of powerful punches, alternating between the face and abdomen. Both sophomores moved swiftly across the ring in the quickly-paced first round and at one point, Dunn held Blood back with his left arm and used the other to throw hooks at his head. Blood finally managed to duck Blue’s aggressive hold. In the second round, Dunn started off strong, forcing Blood against the edge of the ring. Blood constantly flew across the ring but missed a shot to his head, causing him to stumble and ending the second round. Blood had a powerful start to the third round, throwing the first few jabs to which Dunn responded with a series of hooks. Blood landed a punch straight to Dunn’s face, and Dunn retaliated to knock Blood against the edge of the ring. The comeback by Blood did not prove to be enough, as Dunn took the bout by unanimous decision.

167-pounds:

Pat “Pattycake” Shea def. Mike “Greasy” Grasso

The juniors exploded into the first round, as Shea flung himself at Grasso early, who maintained his balance and composure. Grasso forced Shea into the corner, but Shea quickly escaped, landing a punch to Grasso’s face. Grasso increased his punches as the bout continued but struggled to keep up with Shea’s defense. Shea rallied with a powerful comeback, forcing Grasso against the edge of the ring and dislodging his headgear to end the first round. The second round got off to a fast start, as Grasso threw the first punches, lunging forward at Shea. Grasso got Shea in a hold against the edge of the ring at the end of the second round. Shea came out strong in the decisive third round, landing several punches to Grasso’s face, securing a unanimous-decision win.

Gage “American Psycho” O’Connell def. Mike “Flanigan” Flanigan

Within seconds of the bell, O’Connell threw the first punch, which was powerful enough to cause the referee to halt the fight. He then got Flanigan into a hold, one from which his opponent eventually escaped. Flanigan then went on the attack, but O’Connell countered with a strong defensive effort. The second round consisted of patterns of five-punch combinations and short pauses for both fighters and ended in a standstill. Though O’Connell had seemed to gain the advantage from the first two rounds, Flanigan came out strong in the last round, landing several hooks to O’Connell’s head, dislodging his headgear. O’Connell, though, successfully avoided enough of Flanigan’s high-concentration punches to secure the split-decision triumph.

178-pounds:

Jason “Downtown” Ellinwood def. Brent Breslau

The sophomore Breslau started the first round with a bang, taking the early advantage before Ellinwood grabbed a foothold in the fight and slowed the bout down. By the middle of the second round, both fighters were drawn back before Ellinwood took his opportunity to shine. He threw powerful and agile hooks, causing Breslau to lose his balance on multiple occasions. In the third round, Breslau jumped into action, lunging at Ellinwood swinging punch after punch. However, Ellinwood defended well against Breslau’s efforts and finished the round strong to take home the unanimous-decision victory.

Brendan “Rainman” Lesch def. Eric “P-Rex” Palutsis

The fight started evenly, as both fighters exchanged a series of blows. Toward the middle of the first round, however, Lesch, a graduate student, gained the upper hand and forced the senior Palutsits into a defensive stance. The second round started with a huge right hook by Lesch, which Palutsits dodged, allowing him to respond with a solid combination. In the middle of the round, Lesch tried to go on the offensive, but Palutsits was able to fight back effectively and landed a big blow to the head at the finish of the round. In the third round, both fighters appeared fatigued and not much action took place in the first part of the round. Things eventually picked up, and Palutsits was the aggressor with his quickness. However, Lesch was declared the winner by unanimous decision.

 

184-pounds:

Bryan Cooley def. CJ “Chief Justice” Pruner

In the first round, Cooley, an off-campus senior, landed a few early blows and kept graduate student Pruner off-balance, even when Cooley was not being particularly aggressive. Cooley opened the second round with a powerful right hook that forced Pruner onto the ropes, though the rest of the round was fairly quiet. In the final round, both fighters traded blows early in the round, but ultimately Cooley landed more punches than Pruner. The third round was enough to propel Cooley to a unanimous-decision victory.

Brian “Cheese” Willis def. Derek Meyer

Early on in this battle of Duncan Hall residents, the freshman Meyer took a few blows to the head but responded with a monster punch back at the junior Willis. For the remainder of the round, though, Willis proved to be the stronger fighter and forced a stoppage as Meyer had to be attended to by the trainers. The second round of the fight consisted mainly of Willis forcing Meyer into a defensive stance. Though Meyer landed a few punches on the counterattack in the third round, Willis was able to seize control of the final round by landing a huge uppercut that forced the referee to stop the contest, declaring Willis the winner.

196-pounds:

Pat Gordon def. Evan “Heavy Duty” Escobedo

Escobedo, a senior from Fisher Hall, squared off against Gordon, a freshman from Keough Hall, in the first semifinal in the class. The fight started very cautiously, as both fighters took their time to feel out their opponent. The second round saw more punches thrown than the first, and both boxers refused to back down. In the third round, and throughout the fight, Escobedo was constantly pushing the action, even though he was not necessarily landing punches. Gordon’s counterattacks and ability to take Escobedo to the ropes in the third round secured him a spot in Friday’s finals with a victory by unanimous decision.

Jack Considine def. Chirs “Heavy Duty” Croushore

In the first round, the off-campus senior Croushore landed a combination of punches to put Considine, a Dillon Hall sophomore, on the ropes, but Considine soon turned the fight around, backing his opponent into the ropes and forcing a medical timeout. In the second round, Considine seemed to gain confidence and slowly but surely forced Croushore backwards. Midway through the round, a second medical timeout was called, again for Croushore. Considine continued his attack after the stoppage, though, and cemented his spot on top of the fight. In the third round, Croushore came out swinging and backed Considine up, but the sophomore answered, seemingly unfazed by Croushore’s attacks to secure the unanimous-decision win.

Heavyweight:

Tyler “Tuna” Plantz def. Ryan “The Swedish Meatball” Lindquist

Though Plantz, a graduate student, was markedly shorter than his off-campus senior opponent, he was no less aggressive and managed to gain the upper hand early in the fight. Plantz continued his dominance in the second stanza with his quick yet powerful blows. Less than a minute into the round, the referee had to call for a stoppage while the medical staff looked at Lindquist. Right after the stoppage, Plantz landed a combination of overpowering blows and continued to do so into the third round, with Plantz taking home a unanimous-decision victory.

Jackson “The Flash” Wrede def. Gerry “Jarreigh” Kellier

In the final bout of the night, Wrede, a freshman from Knott Hall battled it out against Kelliher, an off-campus senior for the second spot in the heavyweight final. The first round of fighting was relatively even as Wrede kept trying to push the action with Kelliher keeping him at bay. The second round seemed fairly even, with both fighters landing some punches. Near the end of the bout, Wrede succeeded in landing a right-left combination to secure a unanimous-decision victory.