Nolan “Big Dog” Lyon def. Felix “Mardi Graze” Smolen
Lyon, a senior fighting out of the gold corner, landed many punches during the first round of the first bout Tuesday night in Ring B. The senior was all over Smolen, a sophomore from Maryland, again during the next round. And the referee was compelled to stop the contest multiple times for Smolen’s safety. Smolen could not capitalize on this extra rest time. A Cincinnati native, Lyon won the 153-pound contest by referee stoppage.
“Average” Joe Rozgonyi def. Kevin “For the Brand” Stein
The seniors kept getting tangled up during the opening round of this fight. After a bell rang, signaling that 90 seconds of the contest had gone by, the boxers tapped gloves out of respect. In round two, the boxers honed in on each other’s face guards. With a string of successful punches, Rozgonyi started edging out ahead of Stein toward the end of round two. Stein came out very strong during round three, causing the fighters to get tangled up a couple more times. Both boxers landed heavy hits during the final 90 seconds of the fight to the delight of the crowd. Rozgonyi won by split decision.
Phil “Il Capo” Pollice def. Owyn “Rum Punch” Ferguson
Pollice, a sophomore, began really hot during the opening seconds of the match. But Ferguson, a graduate student, went to work during the rest of the round and was able to pin his opponent in the corner at one point. Both fighters had their bright moments in round two. Ferguson seemed a little winded during the middle portion of the middle round. Pollice appeared more composed during the final round, but he didn’t have any huge hits. The sophomore from Baumer Hall would win the 153-pound contest by split decision.
Matthew “Two Cup” Turzai def. John “The Quad Father” Christoforetti
Christoforetti, a freshman fighting out of the blue corner, spent most of the first round of this 177-pound bout playing defense. Turzai, a junior representing Keenan Hall, got through to the freshman’s face guard three times right before the end of round one. The junior had a successful middle round. Before the final round, Christoforetti took a seat to catch his breath, while Turzai remained on his feet. Turzai never landed a knockout-punch, but still won by unanimous decision.
“The REAL Big” Mike Guyette def. William “A.I.” Johnson
Though he was fighting a senior, Johnson, a freshman, was very stoic when the announcer called his name before the bout began. In round two, Guyette seemed more composed than his opponent. In the final dozen seconds of the middle round, Johnson retreated in a circle all the way around the ring. In round three, the senior landed punch after punch, and Johnson’s retreat efforts, this time, were not very successful. Guyette, who was representing Keough Hall, won by unanimous decision.
Kamsi “K.O.” Ejike def. CJ “Chug Jug” Kelly
Kelly, a senior fighting this 179-pound match out of the blue corner, directed his opponent up and down the ring during the opening round, sustaining a fair amount of flack in the process. Ejike, a freshman representing Keough Hall, must have caught his breath during the minute between rounds one and two. He came out of the gate really strong in the middle round, but it wasn’t long before Kelly took back the reins. The final round was sloppier than the previous two, and there was even a little action after the final bell rang. The freshman won by split decision.
Niko “KO” Tarasenko def. Isaac “Ice” Culp
The referee had to stop this bout fewer than 10 seconds in to tighten the face protection on Culp, a sophomore representing Fisher Hall and fighting out of the gold corner. In round two, the referee paused the competition so blood could be cleaned off Culp’s face. Tarasenko, a senior representing Alumni Hall, landed some scary hits right at the start of the final round, encouraging the referee to halt the bout to check out the sophomore. Before the bout was over, Culp would need some blood cleaned off of him again. Tarasenko won by unanimous decision.
Nicholas “Nick” Buhay def. Henry “Goldilocks” Philips
Buhay, a senior, dexterously chipped away at the defenses of Philips, a freshman, throughout round one. When Philips was no longer able to protect himself, the referee stepped in and paused the match. The freshman communicated that he was not going to let Buhay take the bout easily through his performance during the middle round. Philips was not in survival mode, but he was close to it during the third round — a time during which he needed to land many, many punches for any hope of winning the bout. Buhay won by unanimous decision.
Ijeh “The Golden Child” Nwaezeapu def. Andrew “Cowboy” Foote
Foote, a senior fighting out of the blue corner, located Nwaezeapu’s red face protection with his right fist several times during the early moments of this 192-pound competition. Before the first 90 seconds of the match were over, however, Nwaezeapu located a couple of punches of his own on the senior’s blue face guard. The middle round was filled with high-intensity boxing. When the bell rang, signaling the end of round two, the fans of Nwaezeapu, a sophomore representing Keough Hall, roared. The face guard of each boxer got a ton of attention from the fist of his opponent during the bout’s final round. Nwaezeapu won by unanimous decision.
Ryan “Smarf” Hersey def. Will “Sleepy Time” Robbins
Robbins, a junior representing Knott Hall, endured a consistent onslaught of punches from Hersey during round one. In the middle round, Hersey, a senior representing O'Neill Family Hall, continued to push Robbins where he pleased around the 7th floor of Duncan Student Center. In the final round of this 186-pound contest, Robbins found his opponent’s face guard with his gloves more than he had during the previous two rounds. The senior would win by unanimous decision.
Emilo “Smooth Operator” Fernandez def. David “Gimme the” Liu
Liu, a senior representing Sorin College, took a few body shots during the early part of round one and a couple of face shots during the late part of that round from Fernandez, a fellow senior. Fernandez, who was representing Keough Hall, hit Liu pretty hard with a combination during round two, and the referee promptly paused the match. During the stoppage, some blood needed to be cleaned off of the floor of the ring. Seemingly ahead in the bout, Fernandez did not lift up off the gas during round three. The referee had to pause the match two more times before the final bell rang so Liu could be cleaned up. Fernandez won the 147-pound contest by unanimous decision.
Logan “Grizzly” Bayer def. Michael “Crispy Chicken” Rauch
Bayer, a senior fighting this 172-pound contest — the last bout of the semifinals — out of the blue corner, had no problem clocking his taller opponent on the head during round one. Rauch, a junior representing Siegfried Hall, would find himself with his back up against the ropes when a bell rang, marking the end of round one. Rauch spent some more time during round two up against the ropes and some other time during that round running away from Bayer. The referee had to pause the match during round three to check out Rauch. Bayer won by split decision.
Editor's Note: An earlier version of this article stated Rauch was in Fisher Hall and Rauch's match with Bayer ended in a unanimous decision, not split. The Observer regrets these errors.
