South Carolina club boxing held its seventh annual showcase event on April 11 at the training facility Battle Boxing Gym in Columbia. For the first time, the event held bouts between opponents from the University of South Carolina and Clemson.
The event showcased 12 three-round fights between the two schools in a tournament style, with the winners advancing to a second round and championship fight at their respective weight classes. Fights were held at 155, 170 and 200 pounds and heavyweight, along with a women's championship.
In addition to the collegiate tournament, an amateur bout between Aidan Lazenby, fourth-year exercise science student and President of the Carolina Boxing Club, facing Ben Reed, fourth-year economics student and vice president of the Carolina Boxing Club, took place during the event's intermission. Highlighting two coaches at the gym and leaders of the club, the two put on a technical display for two rounds.
“I'm really happy with how the club has grown in the past four years I've been in it," Lazenby said. "I'm really excited, really happy for my guys, (and) I'm really happy for the future of this club.”
First-round bouts
In the preliminary bouts, the Gamecocks won five out of seven matches.
The lone stoppage of the afternoon came after two dominant rounds from South Carolina second-year operations and supply chain student Giacomo Jreige, forcing the corner of Clemson fourth-year computer science student Hayden Arenas to throw in the towel. Jreige outclassed Arenas, showing nice footwork and, with a speed advantage, found openings landing heavy shots to the body.
Applying forward pressure, Arenas' guard was constantly being tested and struggled to keep up, allowing Jreige to land many combinations.
Jreige overwhelmed Arenas, walking him down and taking advantage of holes in the guard.
“To be honest, he wasn't on my level," Jreige said. "Once he felt my jab, I could see he didn't like it. I smelled blood and went for the kill.”
Championship fights
After a brief intermission and the showcase match, the championship bouts began, starting with the women's championship between South Carolina third-year international business student Molly Bennett and first-year cardiovascular technology student Melanie Acevedo.
Acevedo controlled the pace from the opening bell, landing many jabs to disrupt the timing of Bennett.
Acevedo utilized superior footwork and speed, beating Bennett to spots and landing multiple strikes compared to only defending one or two punches in succession. Jabs resulted in combinations opening throughout the matchup and led to a unanimous victory for Acevedo.
“I'm just happy that I got to compete,” Acevedo said. “It feels pretty good. I'm pretty hyped up.”
South Carolina won four out of the five championships, including 155-pound champion Jreige. In his second bout, he took on fellow Gamecock second-year sports media student Ben Vidonic.
Going all three rounds, the bout was the most technical of the night, with both fighters familiar with each other's strategies. Due to training together, the battle was even-matched and slow-paced until body shots from Jreige took a toll on the gas tank of Vidonic.
Taking control of the pace of the fight, Jreige also had a distinct speed advantage that created opportunities for combinations.
By the end of the third round, Jreige began landing power shots as well, knocking out Vidonic's mouthpiece multiple times and leading to a standing count.
At the 200-pound weight class, one of the closest fights of the event occurred when fourth-year international business student Will Jordan defeated fellow South Carolina classmate and third-year pre-medical student Andrew Goad via unanimous decision.
Jordan created his opportunities controlling the distance and landing jabs through a weaker guard of Goad. Landing heavy shots as fatigue set in, Jordan dominated the third round, forcing a standing count after a combination landed.
In the final fight at heavyweight, a rematch of last year's championship between defending champ fourth-year psychology student Ethan Green and second-year psychology student Andrew Wylds was set to unfold. Wylds received a first-round bye, while Green defeated second-year neuroscience student Emenike Obi by split decision in a grueling three-round battle.
Green did not wear down despite fatigue, and he controlled the range and tempo for the entire bout.
En route to his second consecutive title, Green landed some of the hardest shots of the entire night, reigning hooks and overhands.
“When there's people throwing big hammers in there, you can feel it,” Lazenby said. “Heavyweight fights always stand out to me.”