2022 Bengal Bouts continue with semifinals

The Bengal Bouts semifinals kicked off at 7 p.m. Monday night in Dahnke Ballroom.

Nirajan “One Punch” Koirala vs. Colin “Can’t Touch This” Capece

Editor's note: Capece previously served as an Assistant Managing Editor for The Observer

The night opened up fast as Capece came out quickly during the first round. Although Capece would step out first, it was Koirala who would nail the first few hits. However, Capece would live up to his name, dodging multiple swings from Koirala before one would hit. The fast pace of this round was quickly fading and Koirala nailed a few solid hits before the bell rang. The second round was a different pace than the first, with the boxers much more focused on nailing hard hits than multiple softer ones. While Koirala would hit the first one fast, Capece would retaliate, knocking Koirala to his feet. However, the referee told judges not to count it. The third round would start off with Koirala, with Capece instantly put on the defensive. Koirala would land some solid hits before Capece would return them. Although Capece was on the defensive the entirety of this round, his fans were chanting his name. After a break, Koirala would nail Capece on the face before Capece would do the same. By the end of the round, Koirala would be named winner by unanimous decision.

Jackson “The Hook” Ballow  vs. Carlos “El Catracho” Espinoza Banegas

The second round started energetically as Ballow nailed Espinoza Banegas. At the beginning of the bout, Ballow would knock down Espinoza Banegas, but again it would not be counted by the judges. Espinoza Banegas would fight much lower than Ballow, and would aim for body hits, while Ballow would have to punch down to his opponent. The second round would open with Espinoza Banegas hitting Ballow quickly from the start. While Espinoza Banegas would corner Ballow, Ballow would not let this define this round for him. The third round would open up with a completely different energy. Espinoza Banegas had a new refreshing energy while Ballow was obviously fatigued. Espinoza Banegas would corner Ballow, and while Ballow would try to hit his way out of it, Espinoza Banagas would continue to land hits. By the end of the third round, Espinoza Banagas would win by split decision.

Jack “Topgun” Lannon vs. Jack “Twinkle Toes” Lennon

You are not reading this wrong, the third match of the night was against Jack Lannon and Jack Lennon. Lennon, the ex-professional ballet dancer, would have the opening punch before landing multiple in a row. This would be responded to by Lannon nailing a few against his opponent. The fighting would go back and forth for the remainder of the round. Lennon would live up to his name, dodging hits from his opponent and switching from low to high very quickly. The second bout opened up with Lannon slamming Lennon. Lennon would then look to corner his opponent but he missed his opportunity. The round would conclude with a hit landing from Lannon before multiple from Lennon. Lannon would start off the third round, but both boxers would come out quick and heavy. Lannon would dodge multiple before Lennon would land multiple in a row. With the last few seconds of the match, Lennon would corner Lannon, and with unanimous decision, Lennon was named winner.

Joey “The Milk Man” Brenner vs. Thomas “Tex” Edwards

While it would start out with a few seconds of no punches, Brenner would land a hard punch to start. Although both opponents would start hitting hard, Edwards knocked Brenner down. He earned the win by stopped contest. The opponents then embraced and left the ring arm in arm.

Sean “Milk” Mullen vs. Matthew “Double Jeopardy” Downing

Downing would start off the round, nailing multiple swings to the face. Although Downing would attempt to corner Mullen, Mullen would fight to get out of it, landing multiple hits on his opponent. This round would have the opponents landing hits in the center of the ring. While Downing would get a few punches in, Mullen would finish out the round with an equal amount of hits. Downing would stay low and hit low to start the second round. He would nail a few quick jabs before Mullen would land a hard punch on his opponent's head. This round would see a lot harder and heavier punches than the previous one. It was clear that both opponents were exhausted, but this didn’t stop them from fighting. The start of the third round would see multiple quick hits from Downing before a hard swing from Mullen. Mullen would land one hit to every of Downing’s three. By split decision, Downing would win the bout.

Mattheas “Mattheos” Mattheos vs. Hayden “Dragon” Hoekstra

Hoekstra opened up the round with multiple quick hits before Mattheos would nail multiple hard hits back. Early in the match, Hoekstra would corner Mattheos before he would escape. But not for long as Hoekstra would corner Mattheos again and Mattheos would struggle to escape the constant barrage of hits from the “Dragon.” Hoekstra would continue to land hit after hit on his opponent before the bell rang. The second round would open up with some attempted hits from Hoekstra, but Mattheos would dodge, and then proceed to land a few. Again, Hoekstra would corner Mattheos to end the round. The third round opened up with a lot of energy from Mattheos. However, Hoekstra would respond even harder as he would nail multiple in a row pushing Mattheos into the ropes. While Mattheos was encouraged from his very loud fan base, it was not enough to push him over the edge. By unanimous decision, Hoekstra would be named winner.

Aidan “Ace” Becklund  vs. Nolan “Lightning” Lyon

Lyon would open up the bout with multiple jabs, but it was Becklund who would land the first major hit. The two would go back and forth fairly equally throughout the remainder of the round. Lyon would knock Becklund back, but then Becklund would hit back hard. The second round opened up again with Lyon, but Becklund would be quick to hit back. For the entirety of the round, the two fighters would stay off the ropes and in the middle of the ring. With a few seconds left in the round, Becklund would land multiple hits. Lyon would open with a lot of quick punches, pushing his opponent into the ropes. However, Becklund would eventually dodge out of them and land multiple harder hits on Lyon. Using the last of their energy, Becklund would throw multiple punches, and Lyon would respond. By the end of the round, by split decision, Becklund was named winner.

Jack “The Hammer” Murphy vs. Terrance “Slinker” Cameron

The eighth match of the night would begin with Cameron landing multiple quick ones. While Murphy would stay low, Cameron would continue to nail his opponent. Murphy would then push Cameron into the ropes, but Cameron would fight his way out of it, almost knocking Murphy back to the opposite ropes. By the end of the round, Murphy would be barraging Cameron with hits. Murphy would land more hits this round, but Cameron would still respond with many quick ones. Cameron would continue to dodge the hits before landing some quick ones. It was obvious he was tired from the energetic bout. Eventually, Murphy would send Cameron to the ropes for the end of the round. Cameron would land multiple hits, and slam one into Murphey’s face. With only ten seconds left, the audience would get loud and Cameron would land multiple times before the bell. By unanimous decision, Cameron won.

Charles “Chip” Martin vs. Alex “Baller” Flor

Flor would open with multiple swings, but Martin was able to dodge them. Both opponents would land an equal amount of punches this round. While Flor would attempt to push Martin to the ropes, Martin would respond hard and would push him back for the end of the first round. Martin would attempt to corner Flo, but Flo would not allow this and would slam Martin back. Again, Martin would send Flo to the ropes, but Flo would fight his way out of it. Flo would land a hit on Martin’s head to end the second round. The third round would open with a hard hit from Flo. However, with his fans cheering him on Martin would have a burst of energy and push against his opponent, nailing multiple big hits in a row. Flo would retaliate by nailing multiple hits in his opponent’s head. By the end of the round, the boxer’s fans were cheering so loud that neither the referee nor the fighters could hear the bell. By split decision, Flor was crowned the winner.

Rob “The Voodoo Ranger” Rucki vs. Marcello “No Nickname” Nanni

Rucki would step out first, but Nanni would send him into the corner. While Rucki would have multiple punches, Nanni would respond by sending Rucki into the ropes. The second round would see Nanni opening up with multiple hits to Rucki, and while Rucki would respond briefly, Nanni would bombard his opponent with punches. For the third round, both boxers would come out energetically. Nanni would slam multiple hits on Rucki, but Rucki would respond with full force. At one point, Rucki pushed Nanni into the corner. However, Nanni would nail a crucial punch, sending Rucki into the corner for the bell. By unanimous decision, Nanni won the match.

Nicholas “Nick” Buhay vs. Josh “Barstool Athlete” Williams

Williams would open up the fight, landing multiple heavy hits against Buhay. After a short break, Buhay would swing a few before Williams would respond heavily. Buhay would send Williams to the ropes, but after a quick break Williams would respond with multiple heavy hits to the head. With only ten seconds left in the round, Buhay would have a burst of energy and would slam his opponent multiple times. The second round would be an energetic one. Despite the hard contest, neither boxers showed signs of fatigue. Williams would attempt to hit Buhay, but Buhay would dodge. Eventually, Williams would be able to nail his opponent in the head before both would take turns nailing the other. Buhay would slam multiple hits to open the match, but Willliams would respond appropriately. Williams would land a hit, sending Buhay back a few steps. Williams would win by split decision.

Luke “Mantequilla” Slahor vs. Dean “Sug(ar)” Maloney

Slahor came out swinging, landing some quick punches in the first round. Maloney hung in there, though, throwing some punches of his own and dodging some of Slahor’s swings. Towards the end of the round, Slahor landed a big blow to the head after Maloney tried to evade a punch. 5he momentum was definitely in Slahor’s favor at the end of the first round. In the second round, Maloney came out looking better, firing some body blows against Slahor. Slahor ended the second round on a strong note, though, landing some strong blows against Maloney. In the third round, Slahor came out on a mission, landing some forceful punches out of the gates. He would be tripped up moments later, but the punch could not be counted by the judges. Towards the end of the round, Maloney looked visibly fatigued and Slahor would ultimately be named the winner by unanimous decision.

“The Real Big” Mike Guyette vs. Griffin “Premium” Hawthorne

Both fighters came out of the gate strong, throwing strong punches against each other. Guyette landed a few punches, but Hawthorne successfully landed a strong punch on Guyette’s torso. At the end of the first round, it was evident that this was shaping up to be a highly contested fight. To start the second round, Guyette came out on the offensive, but Hawthorne did a good job of slipping Guyette’s jabs and landing some hard punches of his own. Guyette then pinned Hawthorne up on the ropes and threw some strong 1-2 punches to end the second round on a strong note. Guyette came out of the gate strong in the third round, flying across the ring to land some big hits on Hawthorne. Guyette landed some more jabs at the end, but both boxers looked physically exhausted towards the end, failing to land any meaningful punches. In the end, Guyette was named the winner by unanimous decision.

Evan “Milk” Molka vs. Will “Vlad” Covington

Both boxers came out of the gate hesitant to throw any huge punches, and both boxers exchanged some small jabs early on. As the round went on, Molka landed a couple of hard blows to the body, but it was unclear which boxer would win the fight at this point. In the second round, both boxers came out looking to go on the offensive and Covington threw some strong jabs against Molka. Molka recovered well, though, and delivered some hard blows to Covington’s body. At the end of the round, both boxers started looking more fatigued and failed to land any meaningful blows. In the final round, it was Covington who looked the better fighter early on landing some 1-2 punches on Molka. Molka fought back again, though, throwing some strong blows against Covington. Covington ended the fight on a strong note, throwing Molka against the ropes, but Molka did more throughout the fight and ultimately ended up winning by split decision.

Patrick “The Hash-Slinging Slash” Roche vs. Luke “Big Chunky” Sheridan-Rabideau

Both boxers came out on a mission, landing strings of punches against each other. Sheridan-Rabideau got Roche pinned up on the ropes later on in the round and landed some strong blows to the face, causing Roche to bleed and cause a timeout. Out of the timeout, Roche flew across the ring and landed body blow after body blow on Sheridan-Rabideau to end the round. Sheridan-Rabideau came out of the gates in the second round strong again, landing more blows to the face on Roche, prompting another timeout. Sheridan-Rabideau came out of the timeout and flew across the ring to land more punishing blows to Roche, which prompted the fight to end early. In the end, Sheridan-Rabideau was the clear better fighter, and he was named the winner by referee’s no contest.

Niko “Hi I’m Niko” Tarasenko vs. Andrew “Cowboy” Foote

Tarasenko came out on the offensive, landing some early blows on Foote. Tarasenko continued to land blow after blow on Foote early, looking like the better fighter out of the gate. Foote was able to settle in, though, towards the end of the round. He slipped some of Tarasenko’s punches and land some blows of his own. In the second round, Foote continued to look better and landed some more punches on Tarasenko. Foote forced Tarasenko on the ropes, and Tarasenko began to look physically fatigued towards the end of the second round. Foote clearly dominated the second round, and it felt like all the momentum had shifted in his direction. In the final round, Tarasenko looked more alive and landed some punches on Foote early. Foote fought back, though, and forced Tarasenko into the corner where he landed some more punishing blows to Tarasenko’s body. Foote ended the round on a strong note, landing one more convincing punch against Tarasenko. The late burst by Foote was enough to give him the victory by split decision.

Max “Putin’s Ukrainian Nightmare” Chuma vs. Thomas “Clipz” Hintz

Both fighters came out cautiously, only throwing small jabs against each other. Chuma looked determined to dictate the fight, but Hintz successfully evaded most of Chuma’s hard blows throughout the first round. At the end of the opening round, it was unclear who was going to win the fight. In the second round, Chuma landed some big punches against Hintz early, but Hintz unleashed himself a bit as well and landed some strong blows of his own. In the middle of the round, Hintz landed the biggest punch of the fight so far, delivering a strong blow to Chuma’s head. After landing the blow, Hintz closed the round out strong, and it felt like Hintz had grabbed control of the fight. In the final round, Chuma came out determined to fight back, but Hintz did a great job evading Chuma’s punches and landing some more big blows. Hintz’s endurance showed as the round went on as well, as he delivered more vicious blows to a tired Chuma. Hintz was rewarded for ending the fight on a strong note, winning the fight by split decision.

Andrew “Red Scare” Cassidy vs. Rogba “The Bug” Ayoola

Ayoola came out of the gates strong, landing some early jabs on Cassidy. Both fighters settled in, though, and the pace of the fight slowed down significantly. Cassidy landed some strong body blows against Ayoola, but Ayoola fought back and ended the round by landing some hard body blows on Cassidy. Early in the second round, both boxers exchanged blows, and it was evident that the fight was shaping up to be a good one. Cassidy landed some jabs, but Ayoola ended the round strong, pinning Cassidy up against the ropes. Cassidy came out in the third round strong, landing some body blows on Ayoola. Ayoola held strong, though, and landed some punches on Cassidy as well, making the winner of the fight very unclear. In the end, Ayoola landed a few more blows, and was named winner by split decision.

Joe “Big Brother, Big Sisters” Hunt vs. Grayson “Dozer” Zinn

Both boxers started the fight fast, throwing blow after blow. Hunt landed some punishing blows early on Zinn’s head. Hunt had a strong fan base supporting him, and it was evident he was using the crowd to his motivation. Hunt then forced Zinn into the corner and landed more strong blows to end a dominating first round. In the second round, Hunt continued to punish Zinn, throwing blow after blow to Zinn’s head. Hunt did connect on awesome blows, but Hunt had too much firepower for Zinn to handle. In the end, Hunt was awarded the victory by referee’s no contest.

Nick “Jolly Mean Giant” Crnkovich vs. Chris “The Dane” Hovard

Both fighters exchanged blows over the first thirty seconds of the fight, and it was evident that the fight was going to be a good one. As both boxers settled in, the fight slowed down significantly, but Hovard landed a punishing head blow to Crnkovich near the end of the round. Crnkovich tried to dictate the pace of the fight early in the second round, but Hovard landed some more head blows on Crnkovich. As the round went on, both fighters started to show fatigue, but Hovard ended the round on a strong note by pinning Crnkovich in the corner. Crnkovich showed some life early in the third round, landing some jabs, but Hovard fought back and landed some punishing blows on Crnkovich. This forced the referee to give the victory to Hovard by referee’s no contest.

The final round of the Bengal Bouts tournament will take place Friday at the Joyce Center.