Students who attended the finals of the Bengal Bouts Wednesday night were treated to several exciting matches.135-pound divisionMichael Schmitt def. Jon Valenzuela Sophomore Michael Schmitt continued his rookie year tear through the tournament by overcoming the more experienced Jon Valenzuela to earn the 135-pound division title in a unanimous decision. The first round began with a clean display of boxing as Valenzuela and Schmitt tested each other and traded jabs. Valenzuela dominated a bit in the first, but overall the round was even, clean and consistent. Round two saw an increase in tempo from both boxers and early on Schmitt began to score a few high-caliber shots upstairs. Valenzuela replied well, forcing Schmitt to the ropes, but Schmitt found success shortly after with his one-two combos. Clinches continued as the round wore down. Though both continued to throw with accuracy, they were visibly tired after an exhausting match. 145-pound divisionPaul Robinson def. Luke DillonPaul Robinson overcame fellow senior Luke Dillon, winning his first Bengal Bouts title in a split decision victory. Dillon held the ring well in early action as Robinson circled him. Exchanges came fast and were high contact and powerful. The first round was spectacular overall with great defense from both boxers and excellent footwork. Round two began with a huge flurry in the second round that placed Dillon on the ropes. After the flurry Robinson's right found its target twice in succession. Both boxers continued to move effortlessly and remained strong throughout the round. Robinson initiated contact a bit more, but Dillon was not hesitant to reply. A speck of blood appeared under Robinson's nose with 30 seconds left in the third round and with 15 seconds left in the round, action was stopped for a quick clearing. 150-pound divisionTJ D'Agostino def. Jon Pribaz T.J. D'Agostino capped off his already impressive Bengal Bouts career by using his dominating lead left to earn a victory over a talented left-hander in Jon Pribaz. D'Agostino came out fast, throwing his lead left hook and used it often to initiate contact. D'Agostino had a great flurry forcing Pribaz to his corner at 50 seconds into round one, which prompted a stop to clean the blood from Pribaz's nose at 1:06.D'Agostino used his long left lead to keep Pribaz at a distance, making it difficult for his opponent to score. Pribaz was never deterred, but D'Agostino had an excellent reply for nearly every advance throughout the round. An early flurry in the second round put Pribaz in a corner and a number of strong lefts found him on the mat 29 seconds into the second round. D'Agostino kept it coming after the break and his punches continually found their target. Pribaz struggled to come off the ropes and another stop was called at 1:01. 153-pound divisionCorey Harkins def. Ryan Duffey Senior Corey Harkins won an overall clean match with practically no brawling over fifth-year architecture student Ryan Duffey. Round one was dominated by quick exchanges as Ryan Duffey held the ring and checked off Harkins using his jab. Though Duffey held the ring, Harkins continued to circle and score effectively from the outside. In round two, Duffey continued to hold the ring but contact came more frequently, as both boxers grew more aggressive. Flurries were low in punch counts, but high in quality with the second round proceeding much as the first. Harkins' left began to find its way through early on in the third round. 155-pound divisionNathan Lohmeyer def. Mike Panzica Junior captain Nathan Lohmeyer earned his first Bengal Bouts title tonight, overcoming classmate Mike Panzica. Lohmeyer was elusive as he advanced, keeping his head and shoulders moving as he threw. Lohmeyer forced Panzica to the ropes and landed a hard shot upstairs midway through the round. In round two Lohmeyer's jab found its way in again and he slipped well to avoid Panzica's advances. Both boxers traded jabs and counterpunched well, but Lohmeyer's upstairs shots found their targets more often than did Panzica's. When Lohmeyer initiated contact he found success and little reply came from Panzica. Panzica continued to throw but Lohmeyer dominated the last minute and scored often over Panzica's dropping hands. 160-pound divisionColin Kerrigan def. Bill Phillip Returning champion Colin Kerrigan won his second Bengal Bouts title overcoming a great last minute effort by senior Bill Phillip. When both contacted simultaneously little scores occurred, but as the first round continued Kerrigan began to slip inside and scored effectively under Phillip's straight jabs. As the round wound down, Kerrigan began to initiate more and Phillip was forced to fight backing up. In round two Kerrigan came on very strong, but Phillip was not to be dismayed and continued to throw numerous punches. Kerrigan, however scored clean virtually every time by going high and low. 165-pound divisionPat Dillon def. Ross Bartels Senior captain Pat Dillon had a career fight as he overcame an unrelenting machine in Ross Bartels. The crowd was on its feet as the split decision was announced in favor of Dillon after the best fight of the night. Bartels charged hard forcing Dillon around the ring early in round one and Dillon often found himself covering and clinching on the ropes. Bartels kept his punches coming and though Dillon was on the ropes often, he patiently waited out the barrages. When Dillon found an opening he bounced off and came on hard landing unbelievably hard punches upstairs. Late in the first round Dillon found success in coming off of Bartels lead left, but Bartels left little room for daylight with his skyrocketing punch counts. In the second, Dillon found success with a great flurry early in the round and moved well throughout to avoid the constantly advancing Bartels. In the final round Bartels kept the punches coming and Dillon found himself on the ropes perhaps too much for his own comfort. 170-pound divisionTommy Demko def. Brian Nicholson Senior captain Tommy Demko outslugged law student Brian Nicholson to win his first Bengal Bouts title. Nicholson came out hard in what began as a brawl and at 10 seconds into the bout a tie up and slip found Demko on the mat. After the stop Nicholson advanced quickly and continued to throw even while Demko attempted to clinch. Both exchanged well as the round went on and contact from Demko began to increase as he settled down and dismissed the charges of the advancing Nicholson. Round two began as a bit of a brawl again as Nicholson changed aggressively. Demko looked good when he stayed upstairs with one-two combos and his right hand was powerful when it found its target. At 1:17 action was stopped to clean a bit of blood from Nicholson's nose and after the break Nicholson was forced to fight on his heels as Demko came on fast with hard upstairs hooks. As the slugfest continued in the final round both boxers were bleeding a bit and a stop was called at 0:57 into the round to clean both. 180-pound divisionJim Christoforetti def. Eric Callahan Junior captain Jim Christoforetti overcame a relentless opponent in Eric Callahan to earn his first Bengal Bouts title in a unanimous decision. Callahan came out as fast as he did in the semifinals, forcing an early nonscoring stumble by Christoforetti as he backpedaled. Callahan continued to advance and Christoforetti used his excellent footwork to move away and clinched and covered when necessary. Christoforetti scored a standing 8-count at 1:35 and the round ended with relatively little contact after the short stoppage. In round two Callahan was again a raging bull and Christoforetti was forced to fight on his heels, though he did so quite effectively. Callahan continued to rush Christoforetti, forcing him to ropes numerous times with a combination of punches and pushes. A combination of clinches, tangles and close fighting began the third round and Christoforetti continued to score on the ever-advancing Callahan. Light HeavyweightJonny Griffin def. Billy Zizic Jonny Griffin's unrelenting attacks and his mounting punch count overcame one of the most skilled fighters in the bouts this year in Billy Zizic. At the start of the fight both came out with great footwork and amazing head movements. Though Griffin advanced, Zizic danced well to avoid his early attacks. Griffin took Zizic to two opposite corners midway through the round and scored effectively as Zizic attempted to cover. As the round ended both boxers were exchanging well and trading effective jabs. In round two Griffin continued to advance often initiating contact and throwing three to Zizic's every one punch. HeavyweightStefan Borovina def. Nathan Schroeder Stefan Borovina became the second returning champion to win another title as he overcame Nathan Schroeder in a called fight. Round one began with a trade of stiff jabs. Borovina was able to accurately pick off his opponent as Schroeder circled and attacked. When Borovina went to the body he was successful in finding scores there as well. As the round came to a close, both were trading jabs often. In round two punches remained straight and clean from both boxers though Borovina scored a bit more. At 1:20 into the round a stop was called to clean the blood from Schroeder's nose. After the stop Borovina's one-two remained tough and several high caliber punches found their way through.A standing 8-count was counted on Schroeder at 1:37 and he was again cleaned for blood. Borovina's right found home again and again late in the round and Schroeder finished the second on his heels. Round three was more Borovina and a stoppage was called at 50 seconds in to replace Schroeder's mouth guard. Borovina was constantly advancing and scoring often on the backpedaling Schroeder. At 1:31 into the final round the fight was called in favor of Borovina.
