On Monday night, Dahnke Ballroom at the University of Notre Dame’s Duncan Student Center hosted the semifinal round of the 95th annual Bengal Bouts. Here’s how each of the fights in Ring A played out.
139.5 LB: Ryan “Rango” Lally def. Kacper “Polish Power” Szyller
The night’s first bout opened in a frenetic pace, as Szyller chased Lally around the ring in pursuit of body blows. Lally was disciplined though, responding with a few successful shots over the top. Both fighters backed off in round two, but the action picked up again in round three, with Szyller twice losing his mouthguard. With or without his protective equipment, he didn’t have enough to overcome Lally, who won by unanimous decision.
164 LB: Erick “Wutang Warrior” Valdez def. Yanni “Quadzilla” Vu
Valdez seemingly couldn’t miss to start the fight, peppering his opponent with effective combination after effective combination. Early in the second round, he forced a count by landing a loud right hook. His long reach continued to give Vu trouble into the third round, resulting in a Valdez victory by unanimous decision.
158 LB: Richie Mistichelli def. Joshua Rivadeneira
Once again, almost all of the aggression came from the blue corner, as Mistichelli went after Rivadeneira. The latter defended well for the most part, save for a couple of potent left jabs from Mistichelli. However, Mistichelli’s tenacity was eventually rewarded, as he forced a count in the final round and won by unanimous decision.
149 LB: Emiliano Gomez def. Thomas Etchart
Etchart became the first gold-cornered fighter to have some success, drawing blood from Gomez very early on in the fight. The latter had the fight stopped for cleanup during the second round but refused to give in, yelling with each swing as he battled back into the fight. Forcing a count on Etchart in the final seconds of round three, Gomez captured the win by unanimous decision.
165 LB: Michael “Crispy Chicken” Rauch def. Matt “Double Tap” Flowers
This flat-footed fight between seniors saw Rauch take the upper hand in the war of attrition. Flowers couldn’t muster much against his opponent’s right hooks and shots to the midsection, which increased in accuracy down the stretch. Rauch took the victory by unanimous decision.
170 LB: Owen “Chami-Man” Serkes def. John “Sugar J” Christoforetti
These two East Coast-based boxers fought spiritedly to start, crashing so hard into the ropes that one of the corners lost its padding midway through round one. They would continue trading surges of momentum until the middle part of the bout, setting up a decisive final round. Serkes put forth the stronger finish, firing up his coaches and earning the win by split decision.
170 LB: Brendan “Classic” McGinn def. Mattheos “Mattheos” Mattheos
In a senior-against-senior battle, McGinn overcame Mattheos’ home-state advantage by catching him with a handful of early right hooks against the ropes. McGinn kept his foot on the gas into the second and third rounds, consistently taking Mattheos back to the ropes. In the end, he’d win by unanimous decision.
184 LB: Jake “Your Friendly Neighborhood” Loughran def. Kamsi “K9” Ejike
This all-sophomore bout went the way of Loughran, who used a steady dose of right jabs to land shots on Ejike. The Texan’s responses were short-lived at first but began to have a greater impact as the third round arrived, but they were not enough. Loughran finished the job with a couple of massive crosses and hooks, winning by unanimous decision.
175 LB: Matthew “Two Cup” Turzai def. Andrew “Molotov” Molinsky
One of the strongest fighters from the quarterfinal round, Turzai opened patiently, absorbing a quality left hook from Molinsky in round one. However, the Pittsburgh senior spilled the downriver Cincy native only seconds later, setting the tone for a competitive fight. Turzai would force a second count against Molinsky in round two, eventually prevailing by unanimous decision.
164 LB: Charles “Pride of the Palisades” Collins def. Gavin “The Getaway” Carr
Though Collins was all over Carr from the jump, his success waned in the second round. That’s when Carr came alive, delivering several stout left jabs and crosses that forced his opponent into a count. Collins didn’t waver, though, returning fire in the final round and capturing the narrow victory by split decision.
194 LB: Michael “Honeybadger” Heffernan def. Charlie “Chili” Schmidt
With Heffernan’s supporters simultaneously cheering for both him and a fighter in the adjacent ring, noise drowned out any sound within the ring. Schmidt started well with a successful left jab and right hook in the first round, but Heffernan powered back down the stretch. Especially dominant in the second round, Heffernan secured the win by split decision.
Zachary ”Obi” Egan def. Matthew “Moo Moo Meadows” Kirkham
Egan found success out of the gold corner in round one, landing a couple of left-handed shots over the top on Kirkham. He didn’t offer a ton of pushback in the second round, but changed in a big way as the final round arrived. After the two fighters backed off midway through the round, they locked up and Kirkham freed his hands to catch Egan with a couple of big shots. However, Egan held his own and earned the win by split decision.
Heavyweight: Seth ”D” Pickford def. Ryan “The Gentleman” Davey
Mere seconds into the night’s final bout, Pickford went crashing into the ropes right in front of the media table. However, despite Davey’s early ambush, the gold-cornered fighter responded well, ending the first round with momentum on his side. Davey took over again in the final two rounds, connecting on four or five consecutive jabs early in round three and securing the win by split decision.
