“Strong bodies fight, that weak bodies may be nourished.”
The tagline for the entire Bengal Bouts program is positioned front and center on the poster celebrating the 75th anniversary of Notre Dame’s amateur men’s boxing tournament. A young Michael Rauch stares up at it from his bed in Downers Grove, Illinois.
“I had a poster, but it never really meant much to me because nobody I knew did Bengal Bouts,” Rauch said. “So I kind of knew about it and decided I would show up to a practice because I thought boxing was cool. I found that I really loved the discipline of it.”
Now a senior vice president of the club, the words take on a far greater meaning. Rauch is responsible for overseeing much of the fundraising branch of the club, from a continued commitment to the Holy Cross missions in Bangladesh to a partnership with the South Bend Police Athletic League (PAL). These efforts are fundamental to the club as much as the boxing tournament itself. While legendary Notre Dame football coach Knute Rockne first established the club in 1920, its official founding year of 1931 coincides with the first tournament, when the service aspect was integrated.
“Boxing is often viewed by most people as destructive power,” Rauch explains. “But I think what Bengal Bouts shows is a way that boxing can be used as integrative power — power that brings people together, forms community and builds people up.”
The impact of Bengal Bouts on the larger community is evidence of this integrative power. Rauch also highlights this power at work in the tight-knit community of boxers in the pit, training each day to help one another improve. His fellow vice president Matthew Turzai valued this community from the moment he joined it as a freshman.
Hailing from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Turzai’s initial spark with boxing came from watching and following in the footsteps of his brother. Upon arriving at Notre Dame, he had limited involvement as a freshman in the fall amidst a busy schedule. However, after some encouragement from fellow members of the Navy ROTC, Turzai started to attend practices more often. He connected with a coach who pushed him and started to fall in love with the sport.
“I lost my freshman year in the first round to another Navy ROTC guy who was definitely a role model of mine,” Turzai said. “But the night of the tournament, that’s what hooked me … that’s the magic of the club.”
He attributes his discovery and development with the club to the people around him. These people made it possible for him to experience the excitement of the tournament, a competition he would go on to win the next year. In that year, he started to take on a greater leadership role as he grew closer to friends in the club and reflected on the impact of that community.
“My reflections on these guys that worked with me and got me to keep coming to the club … it started to turn in the back of my mind,” Turzai describes. “I can start to be that for other people.”
His meteoric rise to tournament success as a sophomore also informed his coaching philosophy in the ring, both as a junior captain and now as a senior vice president. Responsible for the training side of the club, Turzai organizes and leads sparring sessions and workouts. Beyond just teaching the technique, he looks to instill a belief that anyone can improve if they are willing to put in enough work, regardless of previous boxing experience.
“I didn’t really know boxing all that much sophomore year,” Turzai told me. “I’ve developed this idea, that at the end of the day, especially in competition, it’s all mentality … you have to believe in yourself.”
Rauch and Turzai are both heavily involved around campus outside of Bengal Bouts. Rauch has been with the ultimate frisbee team all four years and has worked at the Duncan Student Center climbing wall since he was a sophomore. He identifies those two activities in conjunction with Bengal Bouts because of their community focus.
“That focus on community both in climbing and ultimate frisbee has really helped inform my understanding of the importance of community within boxing,” Rauch said.
Similarly, Turzai has found community through his time with Navy ROTC and serving as vice president of his dorm Keenan Hall, while also lifeguarding at the Shannopin Country Club back home. While balancing these responsibilities can be challenging at times, Turzai’s passion for what he is doing continues to drive him forward.
“If you have a passion for something, the work will come out on its own,” Turzai told me. “If I want guys to be able to learn boxing and I want to put my name, as being one of the guys in charge of technique, on this day and on this practice, I’m going to give it my all.”
The Bengal Bouts will begin with the quarterfinals on Monday, Feb. 17, and continue with the showcase on Feb. 19 and the semifinals on Feb. 24. Each of those three rounds will take place at 7 p.m. inside the Duncan Student Center’s Dahnke Ballroom. The bouts will conclude with the finals at 7 p.m. on Friday, March 29, at Purcell Pavilion.
