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Friday, March 29, 2024
The Observer

Competition intensifies as Bengal Bouts fighters compete for spots in finals

142 pounds

Michael “Munchkin” Kappaz def. Riley “King in the” North

Kappaz, a senior from Alumni, started the first round strong, landing several jabs to North’s body immediately. He backed North, a Morrissey freshman, into the corner, but North’s quick footwork allowed him to escape. Kappaz finished the round the same way he started it, throwing hooks to North’s head and jabs to his body.

Relying on his strong combinations, Kappaz took command of the second round, too. Relying on his right hook, Kappaz managed to stay on the offensive for the majority of the fight. North attempted a few offensive moves using his height advantage, but failed to connect on most hits.

In the third round, North’s defense wavered and Kappaz found opening after opening, picking him apart. Kappaz landed a definitive blow to the face, sending North to the ground and prompting the referee to end the fight.

Kappaz was declared the winner by referee-stopped contest.

Joaquin “Masagana” Camara def. Chris Dethlefs

Both boxers adopted a conservative approach in the first round, with Camara, a junior from Keenan, finding success with his quick left jabs to the head of Dethlefs, a Sorin junior, who countered with a jab-hook combination to Camara’s body.

In the second round, Dethlefs went on the offensive and attempted to fight in close quarters, but Camara was able to move and defend himself well, eventually landing a strong left jab that bloodied the nose of his opponent.

In the final round, Dethlefs was able to land a few blows to his opponent’s side. The fight was stopped for an eight-count when Camara landed a jab followed by a strong hook to the side of Dethlefs’ head.

As soon as the match resumed, both boxers engaged each other and traded a series of furious blows, but Camara landed more and earned himself a victory by unanimous decision.

 

146 pounds

Alex “El Cadejo” Alcantara def. Dominic “Angel” Angelotti

Both fighters began conservatively, dancing around the ring and looking for openings. In the middle of the first round Alcantara, a senior from Alumni, began to take over, using his right hook to connect with Angelotti’s head and knocking the junior from Carroll to the ground.

The second round continued to highlight Alcantara’s offense, with him picking his shots carefully. Angelotti’s height advantage did not help him, and Alcantara used fake swings at Angelotti’s body to connect on hooks to the head. Angelotti managed some offensive attempts in the third round, but Alcantara kept his hands up and defended himself successfully.

He used his left hook to secure victory by unanimous decision.

Matthew “Raindrop” Yoder def. Conor “Babyface” Ward

Yoder, a junior from O’Neill, showed his strategy in the first round by engaging the taller Ward, a Knott junior, in close quarters, pushing him into the corner and landing hooks from both arms. The longer Ward retaliated with several quality hooks of his own.

Yoder continued his strategy in the second round and again found success when he was able to get in close, practically hugging Ward as he landed punches to the body.

In the third round, both boxers tired and lost a bit of discipline, and while Ward landed several blows to the head of his opponent, Yoder largely dictated the offensive flow of the round by pushing Ward around the ring, earning him a victory by unanimous decision.

 

154 pounds

Chip Blood def. Tim Mikulski

Blood, a Sorin senior, asserted a physical presence in the first round, repeatedly driving Mikulski, a freshman from Duncan, into the ropes and landing a flurry of punches, although Mikulski was able to recover and stick Blood with a couple of quick jabs and hooks.

In the second round, Blood was able to counter-attack Mikulski’s cross, driving at his opponent and forcing him into the ropes again, although Mikulski escaped and landed some punches of his own near the ropes.

In the third round, Blood was controlled and a bit more conservative, but again managed the flow of the match by ducking under Mikulski’s swings and, as he had all match, landed flurries to the head and body of Mikulski.

Blood picked up the win by unanimous decision.

“Sloppy” Joe Guilfoile def. Alex “The Roth of God” Roth

Guilfoile, an off-campus senior, and Roth, a masters of divinity student, were quick on their feet and aggressive in the first round. Roth was more on the defensive in the first round and used jabs to counter, while Guilfoile relied on jabs and followed them up with strong right crosses.

The second round began with both fighters throwing strong right hooks and each landed some head shots. Roth picked up momentum in the round by relying on his reach advantage by keeping Guilfoile at a distance and using the jab effectively.

In the third and final round, Guilfoile landed several right hooks and right crosses to Roth’s just after the opening bell sounded. Roth responded with jabs and tried to create distance, but he was not successful enough as Guilfoile defeated Roth by unanimous decision.

 

159 pounds

Gregory Arts def. Joey “Mrong” Quinones

Both boxers were all over the ring in the first round, expending a lot of energy with strong punches to each others’ bodies. Arts, a Carroll junior, controlled the first round by landing several combinations to the body and head of Quinones, a junior from Keough, who was unable to find much of a rhythm due to Arts’ length and footwork.

In the second round, Quinones found success in trading blows with Arts in close quarters, although the longer Arts still maintained an advantage, as he would go in with a jab-hook combination and back away.

In the third round, Quinones appeared to tire, and Arts took advantage by going on the offensive and backing Quinones into the railing several times, landing several hard punches to the head and body of his opponent, earning him the victory by unanimous decision.

Garrett “FedEx” Schmelling def. Gio Lincon

Both Schmelling, a Fisher senior, and Lincon, a senior from Knott, showed patience and restraint in the ring, as the number of punches thrown was fewer than in other bouts. Schmelling stayed low and relied on jabs and hooks, while Lincon was quick on his feet and used the jab effectively.

Schmelling opened the second round by making contact with a series of jabs and crosses and Lincon responded with jabs. Both fighters were had a strong defensive presence and covered themselves successfully. Schmelling had spurts of energy, in which he threw solid combinations and backed Lincon into the ropes.

The two competitors came out aggressively in the final round. Schmelling’s punches were more successful as they landed on Lincon, as he stuck to jab-cross combinations.

In the end, Schmelling defeated Lincon by unanimous decision.

 

Patrick Lawler, right, fights with Sean Flynn in a 166-pound weight division bout during the semifinals of the Bengal Bouts tournament on Monday night.
Monica Villagomez Mendez | The Observer
Patrick Lawler, right, fights with Sean Flynn in a 166-pound weight division bout during the semifinals of the Bengal Bouts tournament on Monday night. Lawler won the fight and will advance to the finals.


166 pounds

Paddy “The Notorious” Lawler def. Sean “The Crouton” Flynn

In the first round, intensity was high. Lawler, a Fisher junior, threw hooks with both hands and landed a series of blows to Flynn’s head, but Flynn, a law student, showed patience and used his technique to land several jabs and crosses. The round finished with an engaged crowd, as the fight was even early on.

Flynn got in multiple crosses and an uppercut to open the second round. Lawler reacted, however, with left jabs and a right hook and displayed lasting energy.

Lawler whiffed to open the third round and Flynn responded with an uppercut. Both fighters petered out towards the end of the fight, but Lawler continued throwing punches. Lawler was victorious by split decision.

Jack “Squad Socks” McDermott def. Danny “No Chill” Childers

Childers, a junior resident of Keough, got McDermott, an O’Neill sophomore, into a corner to start the fight, employing a series of jab and cross combinations. Both fighters showed off their speed and agility. Childers got low to defend himself but seemed to tire out in comparison to McDermott by the end of the round.

In the second round, Childers came out in an aggressive manner and McDermott responded with impactful counterpunches. Childers slowed down again toward the end of the second round, but was able to sneak in some right crosses.

McDermott landed multiple combinations in the final round while Childers threw right crosses to the face.

Both fighters appeared tired by the end of the fight, and McDermott was named the winner by unanimous decision.

 

174 pounds

Jack “Hammer” Corrigan def. Mike “The Count of Monte Fisto” Krecek

The match started off with sophomore Krecek, from Morrissey, swinging at Corrigan, a senior also from Morrissey, but Corrigan was quick to block Krecek’s fast attempts. Throughout the first round, Corrigan skillfully dodged Krecek’s punches while throwing in some effective hooks.

Entering the second round, Corrigan came out with speed and delivered a series of hooks and jabs. Krecek tried to retaliate but he was stuck on defense and started to get off-balance while throwing straight jabs.

During the third round, Corrigan and Krecek started to get tangled up while they alternated sending hooks to the head to each other.

Overall, Corrigan’s veteran skill and composure give him the win by split decision.

Jack “Not the Guy from Lost” Shepard def. Chris “Dada” Harrington

Shepard, a graduate student from Knott, came out with the first hit. After getting tangled up, Harrington, a masters of divinity student from Dillon, pummeled Shepard with quick punches and hooks, causing him to fall off balance. With a combination of jabs and crosses, Harrington kept Shepard in the corner.

During the second round, Harrington came out with speed and unleashed hooks on his opponent, while Shepard tried to come back with combinations of jabs and crosses.

As the third round came around, Harrington appeared visibly tired and Shepard took advantage as he threw in some straight punches to end the round.

In the end though, Shepard won by split decision.

 

185 pounds

Cam “Crash Cadillac” Nolan def. Jack “Shadow Recruit” Ryan

Right at the beginning of the fight, Nolan, a Duncan sophomore, backed Ryan, a Knott senior, into the ropes. Nolan continued to show his power while pushing Ryan onto the outside of the ring with effective hooks. After being pushed around, Ryan bounced back with a few hits to Nolan’s abdomen.

During the second round, Ryan had more of a spring in his step and threw in combinations of jabs and crosses, but Nolan’s powerful hits prevented Ryan from buying any time.

Moving into the final round, Nolan went wild with hooks and led the movement across the ring. Ryan was able to include a few quick combinations, but Nolan ultimately won by split decision.

Dan “Thunder Road” Andree def. Isaac “Your Dad” Althoff

Andree, an off-campus senior, came out swinging against Siegfried junior Althoff. Althoff was patient and swiftly moved around the ring delivering occasional punches, while Andree threw in effective crosses and hooks to end the round.

Entering the second round, Andree delivered a series of hits to the abdomen and a jab to the head, and Althoff waited for Andree to misread before hitting him with cross-jab combinations.

In the final round Andree came out with high energy, knocking Althoff into the ropes.

Overall, Andree proved his reputation as a strong lefty, as he took the win by unanimous decision.

 

199 pounds

Jack Considine def. Chris Vazquez

Considine, a senior from Dillon, came out with the first swing against off-campus law student Vazquez. Vazquez was able to throw some jabs and crosses to the face, but Considine delivered powerful one-two combinations.

In the second round, Considine swiftly delivered strikes to the head that Vazquez was left trying to dodge for a majority of the round.

When the final round started, Vazquez started by landing hooks in hopes of coming back, but Considine continued to deliver combinations that led to the referee stepping in.

With a referee stopped decision, Considine took the win.

Montana “Louisianimal” Giordano def. Aaron Bode “Wan Kenobi”

The first round began with Keough senior Bode throwing quick punches to Alumni sophomore Giordano’s head. During the first round, Bode was able to get in some quick jabs to the head, but Giordano was able to deliver hooks that were equally as powerful to Bode’s head.

As the next round started, Giordano had a surge of power and delivered a hard uppercut, but Bode continued to hold his ground while throwing hooks.

In the final round Giordano coming out hard and Bode swinging in response. Bode was backed into a corner, but was ultimately able to land enough hooks to keep him in the fight.

Giordano was awarded the victory by split decision to move on to the finals.

 

Heavy Weight

Pat “the Quiet Man” Gordon def. Erich “Daddy” Jegier

As a tall, experienced southpaw, Gordon, a junior from Keough, dominated the fight from the first round. Jegier, an off-campus senior, tried to throw some punches but was unable to land them as Gordon moved forward with quick combinations, knocking Jegier to the ground.

During the second round, Jegier delivered a few hits to Gordon’s abdomen, but Gordon sent his opponent to the ground again with a flurry of hooks.

After taking time to get back up, the match was shortly called a win for Gordon in a referee-stopped contest.

Ryan “Eat at Yaz’s” Richelsen def. Jackson “The Flash” Wrede

During the first round, Wrede, a junior from Knott, came out with a powerful uppercut, but Morrissey sophomore Richelsen was quickly able to adjust. Throughout the round, Richelsen was able to take Wrede’s powerful hits and counter with quick one-two combinations.

In the second round, Richelsen disrupted Wrede’s tempo and sent him into the ropes, but Wrede fought back and delivered strong hooks and a solid uppercut to keep him in the fight.

Richelsen did not appear as tired as Wrede and came out quickly in the final round, dodging and delivering straight punches and uppercuts to the face. Wrede had a small comeback with a series of hooks, but Richelsen walked away with the split-decision win.