Boxers Beat Up On Each Other

In this "civilized" day and age, FlyBy just doesn't get enough old-fashioned chances to watch people beat the shit out of each other. So obviously we weren't going to pass up an opportunity to see the first boxing exhibition on campus in decades. FlyBy took itself down to the QRAC to see the first half of the Harvard Boxing Club's first exhibition in 30 years—one which will hopefully become the annual tradition it is advertised to be.

Knowing little about boxing, we asked club member Michael L. Blumenthal '11 about how the sport is played. Each match has three two-minute rounds with about a minute of rest in between each. Scoring is based on number of blows landed and a couple of other factors. But these matches were not actually scored--instead, each participant walked home with a shiny trophy. Check out the video.

We give serious props to all participants because of the very real bravery it takes to stand up in front of a crowd and flaunt one's fighting skills. But the question still remains, how did our boxers actually stack up in terms of style and prowess? Read the analysis after the jump.

Match 1: Hernan "Hollywood" Gatpandan (red) versus Jonathan "The Hawaiian Punch" Nguyen (blue)

(Note: all nicknames are courtesy of the expedition program and do not represent FlyBy's own limited creativity at work)

Weighing in at exactly 143 pounds each, these two guys provided an excellent example of basic boxing. Nguyen described his fighting style as more of a straight puncher, and the match bore him out. One noteworthy observation--as each punched, a slight "breath" sound could be heard, which according to Nguyen is what happens as as boxer tightens up his stomach muscles to better handle the blows. At one point a spectator could be heard calling, "Haran, you're so sexy!" from the audience. Nguyen left the second round with a bloody nose but seemed upbeat about his performance.

Match 2: Dan "Lockbox" Lorenzana (blue) versus Iurie "Bearclaw" Boreico (red)

This was a much more feisty match than the first. Rather than straight jabs, both individuals favored sweeping side hooks. As opposed to the first match, where the opponents kept a reasonable distance, these guys were pretty much all up in each others' faces during the competition. According to an injured (and thus sidelined) female boxer, Lorenzana had more experience, but Boreico could handle any punch. It showed: though Lorenzana seemed to land more blows, Boreico was not fazed and powered through the entire match.

Match 3: Luyi "Louie Louie" Zhao (red) versus Toby "Stormin" Norman (blue)

These guys were a bit more meticulous about warding off blows than the previous pair--Norman especially was incredibly agile and ran Zhao all over the ring to evade being hit, while simultaneously landing straightforward yet stylish punches. Norman also seemed to have a fanclub, conveniently located in the first row, carrying signs with slogans such as "The sun never sets on his biceps."

Match 5: THE GIRLS, AKA Maria "The PUN-isher" May (blue) versus Eleanor "The Viking" Wilking (red)

In a huge crowd pleaser, these two ladies faced off as the last match of the first half. Lots of head blows noted.

At the end of the day, besides one nosebleed and some random blood spatters there were no visible injuries. According to Toby Norman, "These are your teammates so you don't want to kill each other."