Another year of Bengal Bouts came to a close Saturday, with 11 new champions named after a night of furious fights. Sarpong def. GallegosThe lights dimmed, the crowd buzzed and the judges peered. It was time for the championship rounds of the 75th annual Bengal Bouts.In the 126-pound weight division, Peter Sarpong took on Daniel Gallegos. Throughout the first round, Sarpong attacked. He looked like the aggressor until the first bell rang. But Gallegos fought back in the second round. Gallegos wailed, blocked and wailed more. At one point, he had Sarpong stumbling. Sarpong kept his balance and kept up for the remainder of the two-minutes. In the third round, Gallegos overpowered Sarpong as Sarpong tired out. Gallegos won by unanimous decision. Goldrick def. ValenzuelaWell into the second round, sophomore Thomas Goldrick knocked down senior Jon Valenzuela. Valenzuela headed back to his blue corner to get his bloody nose patched up.But the knockdown didn't faze him. Valenzuela came back furiously with sharp, quick jabs. In a fairly even third round, both boxers fought through their bloody faces. One of the hardest fought bouts, the title fight drew a standing ovation from much of the crowd. Goldrick won by unanimous decision. McCann def. HennigIn another back-and-forth bout, junior Mike McCann pulled out the victory over sophomore Michael Hennig. McCann used a strong third round - in which he delivered six punches in-a-row to the head - to win the title by split decision. Lohmeyer def. HumlEach had large cheering sections chanting their names, but senior Nate Lohmyer won the title over senior Tim Huml. In the tight match, the crowd was especially loud. Lohmyer used his reach to overcome Huml's strong hooks. Loughrey def. PanzicaAfter four years of hard work and training, senior Galen Loughrey finally achieved his dream - a Bengal Bouts title. He defeated fellow senior Mike Panzica by unanimous decision for his first Bengal Bouts title. With no knockdowns, Loughrey used a steady attack to overcome a hard-fighting Panzica. In recognition of Panzica's valiant effort, Loughrey hoisted Panzica into the air after the winner was announced and the two high-fived once more. Basola def. GorynskiJunior Mark Basola defeated senior Bobby Gorynski in a split decision. Back-and-forth the whole way, neither boxer overpowered the other, but Basola had just enough energy left in the third round to pull out the victory. DeSplinter def. NicholsonThe crowd booed, cheered, hemmed and hawed. The boxers uppercut, jabbed, blocked, ducked, sweated and bled. In a heated fight, senior Mark DeSplinter defeated law student Brian Nicholson for his third title in three tries. DeSplinter seemed to become the crowd favorite after Nicholson threw him to the canvas in the first round. The rest of the way, the bout was fought fairly evenly. DeSplinter won by unanimous decision. Ward wins by forfeitSophomore Dan Ward won by forfeit. Top-ranked senior Justin Alanis broke his hand in his semi-final victory over Brad Wanchulak and was unable to compete in the title bout.Christoforetti def. BartelsSenior Jim Christoforetti knocked down MBA student Doug Bartels early in the second round. Later in the round, Bartels got a knockdown of his own, sending Christoforetti to the canvas. Christoforetti won the split decision. Zizic def. GriffinThroughout the first round, the bout was a stalemate. But MSA student Billy Zizic then began a stronger attack on junior Johnny Griffin. Both boxers gushed sweat and fought relentlessly. Griffin backed Zizic into the gold corner early in the third round. Punch after punch Zizic stumbled. Griffin then dealt a blow that knocked Zizic into the ropes. Zizic came back powerfully and held on to squeak out a split decision victory. Hasbrook def. SchroederImposing 6-2 senior Matt Hasbrook stepped into the ring against junior Nathan Schroeder. When the bell rang, Hasbrook was the aggressor. He never let up. Schroeder tried to keep up and kept the match even for awhile, but Hasbrook used shifted his weight into his every hit and gained the unanimous decision title.
