The Bengal Bouts Quarterfinals action continued in Ring B.
Justin “Rise and Shine” Reisert vs. Nirajan “One Punch” Koirala
Koirala came out of the gates on the offensive. While Reisert was able to stay on his feet on defense, Koirala would continue to pound on his opponent. This momentum would continue and Reisert would need a count before Koirala cornered him for the rest of the round. The second round would begin yet again with domination from Koirala, and while Reisert was on the offense more in this round than the last, it was clear he was exhausted and would need another count before the end of the round. Again, Koirala would lay it into his opponent, and by the end of the third round Koirala was named winner unanimously.
Gracie Lee | The Observer
Sophomore Justin “Rise and Shine” Reisert and graduate student Nirajan “One Punch” Koirala kicked off the action in Ring B on Tuesday night. Koirala won the bout by unanimous decision.
Aryan “We Paid” Gupta vs. Jackson “The Hook” Ballow
It was clear at the start of the round that Ballow was dominating offensively. Throughout the entirety of the first two rounds, Ballow was able to lay in punches and corner his opponent. Gupta was able to land one solid punch after Ballow stumbled. But, in the third round, Gupta needed a count and Ballow lived up to his name. Ultimately, Ballow won by unanimous decision.Emilio “Lefty” Fernandez vs. Jack “Twinkle Toes” Lennon
The pair of competitors were quick both on their feet and with their punches. The fastest of the matches so far, Fernandez and Lennon would take turns with jabs until the end of the first round. The second round would yet again start off hot, with Fernandez having the first hit and Lennon quickly returning the favor. This back and forth followed until the end of the round. While Fernandez had the first swing of the second round, Lennon quickly answered. Both boxers were dancing around the ring, and it became clear how Lennon earned his title of “twinkle toes.” When the third round opened up, both competitors gave it their all. Swings were fast and hard, and for a brief moment, Fernandez had Lennon pinned. However, in the end, Lennon would win by split decision.Creed “Apollo” Leathers vs. Evan “Milk” Molka
Both boxers pushed the pace in a frenetic first round that didn’t see either gain an advantage early. However, the junior Molka delivered a knockdown right at the end of the first round. The second round began in similar fashion, but this time “Milk” let “Apollo” set the pace, content to punish the freshman on counters. Towards the end of the second round, “Milk” gained a decisive advantage with a host of headgear blows. Leathers needed a big third round to sway the decision back in his favor. Despite a strong effort, Leathers couldn’t find a way through the stout defenses of Molka. “Milk” claimed victory by unanimous decision.Matthew “Double Jeopardy” Downing vs. Damien “Devito” Sylva
A volatile first round saw a lot of action both ways. The Keough senior, Downing, came out strong but faltered under a strong counter from the Fisher sophomore Sylva. In the second round, Sylva’s probing left jab exposed some gaps between Downing’s gloves. “Devito” landed enough headgear blows to force a pause. However, “Double Jeopardy” rebounded, utilizing a series of powerful right hooks to deliver some damage. The bout remained a contested one into the final period. Downing barreled through a final round at a wild pace, taking some tough jabs but landing plenty of his own knocks. “Double Jeopardy” ended the bout with a bloody nose but emerged victorious by split decision.
Gracie Lee | The Observer
Senior Matthew “Double Jeopardy” Downing and sophomore Damien “Devito” Sylva fought a close bout until the final round, ending in a split-decision win for Downing.
Mattheos “Mattheos” Mattheos vs. Andres “The Roadrunner” Mejia
Mattheos, a Siegfried first-year, entered at a height disadvantage and thus took much of the fight into close quarters, mitigating Mejia’s longer reach. Mattheos controlled the pace and the action in the second round. While “Roadrunner” utilized his long reach to land a couple blows, it was Mattheos’s dominance that was the storyline. The first-year forced his opponent into a count at the end of the second round, and then he virtually sealed the result with a couple of damaging combinations to start the final round. “The Roadrunner” forced Mattheos into an eight-count towards the end of the round to push the fight closer to even, but that was not quite enough. Mattheos left the ring a split decision winner.Aidan “Ace” Becklund v. Michael “Florida Man” Perenich
A relatively calm first round saw both boxers feature some fantastic defense and evasion. While Perenich landed a couple of headgear shots, it was Becklund who carried the slightly slower pace with a higher quantity of strong body blows. “Ace” kept his strategy consistent in the second round, shooting for under Perenich’s gloves. However, “Florida Man” found more success on the counter in the middle round to push Becklund around the ring. The third round was highly competitive, but neither fighter tired to do too much, as they looked to avoid giving up a decisive shot. In Ring B’s tightest bout to that point in the evening, “Ace” kept his Bengal Bouts run alive by split decision.Ryan “Mr. Sir” Collins vs. Marcello “No Nickname” Nanni
Backed by an incredibly vocal Morrissey contingent, Nanni controlled the bout early. He landed some combinations and forced an early timeout call from the referee. Collins could barely make contact with the elusive sophomore and took another big headgear blow that kept Nanni in control at the end of the first round. The frenetic pace continued in the second round. Nanni claimed the victory after another damaging combination that spurred the referee to stop the contest. “No Nickname” advanced to the semifinals by RSC.
Jaimie “Greek Freak” Marines vs. Luke “Mantequilla” Slahor
Both boxers worked at a strong pace in the first round, with neither garnering a decisive advantage. “Mantequilla” kept his gloves high to land the early blows, but “Greek Freak” responded well. A series of wrap-ups and tentative, defensive boxing headlined the second round. Again, neither boxer claimed a significant advantage. Slahor came out with more energy in the final round. While keeping his gloves high and defensive, the Duncan Hall junior found some gaps in Marines’ defense. That was enough for the victory, as Slahor took the bout by unanimous decision.
Senior Jaimie “Greek Freak” Marines and junior Luke “Mantequilla” Slahor fought an even bout for the first two rounds. Slahor found some extra energy in the final round, though, earning a win by unanimous decision.
Sean “Milk” Mullen vs. Sirak “Em Sock ‘Em” Negash
This one was all Mullen early as he backed Negash around the ring and into the ropes on multiple occasions in the first round. “Milk” continued the domination in the second round, driving Negash back. The Morrissey sophomore kept his defense stout as well, holding his opponent at bay and minimizing any potential counters. Negash entered the third round at a steep disadvantage. He pushed the pace more than in other rounds but couldn’t land many decisive knocks. Ultimately, Mullen was able to take advantage and keep Negash at bay and on the ropes. “Milk” earned the victory by unanimous decision.Andrew “Hammerfist” Lyons vs. Patrick “The Hash-Slinging Slash” Roche
“Hammerfist” entered the ring with a large and vocal crowd of supporters. However, it was Roche, the Dillon senior, who pushed the pace early. He forced Lyons into an early count and controlled the first round. However, Lyons responded well in the second round to keep the decision in doubt. His combinations came at the taller Roche from down low. The Stanford senior drilled Roche a few times, whose swinging right hooks brought less damage in the second round. Lyons had more stamina in the third round, but it was a battle. Roche conserved energy and kept his gloves high. Ultimately, avoiding a lack of major blows, “The Hash-Slinging Slash” carried his early lead to a split-decision victory.Dean “Sug(ar)” Maloney vs. Nolan “Schweffo” Schwefler
In a very even first round, Maloney landed the strongest blow. His low right hook to Schwefler’s ribs made a thudding impact in an otherwise defensive round. The second round was much of the same. Both fighters wrapped up frequently. They settled for glancing blows and tentative jabs. However, again it was Maloney with the biggest impact. He drew blood from Schwefler’s nose and delivered another powerful shot to the ribs before the bell. “Schweffo” came out, spurred by his coaches in the corner urging him to “go” and “push the pace.” He forced Maloney back on his heels but couldn’t land a strong enough blow to sway the judges. “Sug(ar)” claimed the victory via unanimous decision.Charles “Chip” Martin vs. Ricardo “BDR” Amisano
In the 184-pound division, Amisano entered with arguably the biggest height advantage of the night, standing a head taller than Martin. Thus, divergent strategies emerged. “Chip” stayed low and aggressive under Amisano’s gloves. “BDR” attempted to deliver damage with a leading left jab and right hook from distance. Martin had early success in his efforts, controlling the first two rounds. He continued to pound away under the gloves and eventually landed headgear shots as Amisano’s gloves dropped. Late in the second round, Martin landed five consecutive hooks on Amisano’s headgear. An early third-round surge from “BDR” was too little, too late. In a vicious bout that ended with both fighters bleeding profusely, “Chip” landed enough counters to hold onto his advantage, winning by unanimous decision.Andrew “Cowboy” Foote vs. Cesar “Southside” Sanchez
Foote got off to the early advantage in this 196-pound quarterfinal bout. “Cowboy” was the primary aggressor, and a late-round headshot provided the bout’s first major blow. An even second round kept Foote in what felt like a somewhat comfortable position, but Sanchez remained a strong shot away from swinging the bout in a different direction. The third round was a suitably exciting period. With the decision up in the air, both fighters pushed the pace and landed strong blows. Sanchez looked to be the slightly stronger boxer in this round, but a powerful blow in the final ten seconds by Foote did some damage. In a competitive bout that never felt out of anyone’s reach, “Cowboy” took the win by split decision.Dante “The Inferno” Gardini vs. Niko “Hi I’m Niko” Tarasenko
Tarsenko came out dually elusive and aggressive and gradually built an advantage throughout the first round. “Hi I’m Niko” continued to look just slightly more comfortable in the ring in the second round. The Alumni Hall sophomore kept Gardini on the ropes and generally away from any strong body or headshots. It was more of the same in the third round. Tarasenko delivered a high volume of shots and stayed elusive when caught on the ropes. A couple of thundering right hooks sealed this bout midway through the third round. “Hi I’m Niko” brought home the victory in a unanimous decision.
Simultaneously elusive and aggressive, senior Niko “Hi I’m Niko” Tarasenko beat out sophomore Dante “The Inferno” Gardini in a unanimous decision.
Justin “Slim” Darwin vs. “The Real Big” Mike Guyette
In a battle of sophomores, both Darwin and Guyette looked composed yet aggressive in the first round. Both defended well and slipped an occasional hard shot past their opponent’s gloves. The first bell came with little separating the two fighters. However, Guyette began to assert himself in the second round. Despite bleeding after a tough shot, “The Real Big” controlled the pace and continuously backed Darwin into the ropes. Darwin came out aggressive in the final round, but he struggled to switch the momentum. Guyette continued to find space around and between Darwin’s gloves. Ultimately, “The Real Big” left the ring with a face covered in blood but a victory by unanimous decision.Nick “Jolly Mean Giant” Crnkovich vs. Diego “El Boricua” Silva Cruz
Concluding the action in Ring B was an all-Stanford battle between seniors in the heavyweight decision. Silva Cruz attacked with thundering hooks that made the crowd gasp when they made contact. Crnkovich responded with short, quick jabs between the gloves. The “Jolly Mean Giant” avoided most of his opponent’s heavy shots in the second round, wrapping him up on occasion. That allowed him to control the pace, dancing around the rings and delivering his quick jabs. A competitive second round ended with the bout very much undecided. The third round saw both boxers repeatedly go for the headgear, as both followed their game plan. Silva Cruz’s shots landed heavier, but Crnkovich delivered his hits with higher frequency. The margin felt razor-thin the whole way, and “Jolly Mean Giant” squeaked out the split-decision victory.
Senior Diego “El Boricua” Silva Cruz ducks under a punch from Nick “Jolly Mean Giant” Crnkovich. Crnkovich won Ring B’s final bout of the night in a split-decision victory.
