Gown down Town
Oxford's amateur boxers pitted themselves against challengers from London, Blackbird Leys and Berrinsford on Tuesday in an event boisterously dubbed the 'Fight Night.'
This proved not to be merely the empty bombastic rhetoric often unfairly attributed to boxers, as an entertaining and bruising evening yielded many successes for the club.
The Town versus Gown match-ups were preceded by a brace of inter-club bouts. In the first the ability of Trinity's Fred Brown to crouch, shuffle quickly and spring while punching, all in one smooth act of bewildering unison, saw off Magdalen's Simon Blackwell.
The second fight, between Leo Vincent of Brasenose and Somerville's Tom Cornell, descended into a savage scrap almost immediately. Ropes undulated, the idea of a guard was gleefully discarded and the referee's face contorted into a strained rictus of pain as he struggled to keep up with the giddy swirl of traded blows. A brutal combination by Vincent forced the fight to be stopped in the second round.
The most explosive bout of the evening was between the rapturously received John Dennen of Oriel and Beresford's Robert Dalton. The first exchanges were routine enough, with Dalton appearing sturdy.
However, in a blur, Dennen sent him on to the ropes, Dalton's hulking frame sprawling in such a way that he was in danger of slipping out of the ring. The referee rushed to stop the fight but not before a few mighty overarching blows had inflicted further damage on the helpless Dalton. He had to be helped from the ring, and stumbled poignantly on his way out.
In bout four James Twigg of Somerville outworked a
London-based opponent well schooled in the black arts of skulduggery, withstanding cynical blocks, trips, pushes and holds to win on a unanimous points decision.
The fifth match saw Pembroke's Thomas Freije sidle slowly and rhythmically to victory. His long arms produced enigmatic and effective combinations, an angular uppercut with deceptively little under momentum which managed to stop London's Louis Alday in the third round.
The sixth bout saw London's Andrew Paul, an associate of whom claimed he had accepted this challenge in an act of drunken foolery just two days before, taking on Oxford's Azhar Saloman, a cool, focused, ex-Chechen soldier complete with bullet wound and voluble personal coach.
It looked a desperate wager against ugly odds, the affable hustler against the dedicated professional who, according to his captain, had been training with one goal in mind for weeks.
In the event Saloman looked tentative, hitting the bravely shuffling Paul with only two shots of real substance. Paul went down once, under his own momentum, and launched attacks of his own, eventually succumbing to a defeat by majority points decision.
The penultimate match-up saw Ben van Duren overcome Amar Khan from Blackbird Leys. Khan was hamstrung by his one-dimensionality, his right hand pummelling mechanically away as his left hand alternated between hanging useless and limp at his side and making a vain attempt to contain van Duren.
The Oxford fighter bade his time, waiting for the occasions when he could trap Khan on the ropes and unleash flurries of concentrated body shots. Khan withered badly, and the fight stopped as he lay panting on the ropes, deaf to the cries of his team mates.
And so to the final and most bad-tempered bout. Oxford's Jay Choi found himself up against Shar Khan from Blackbird Leys, a menacing egotist who peppered his performance with guttural growls and profanities towards the audience. Khan withstood Choi's charges, delivering a small number of efficient punches in what was largely an unsatisfactory bout. The boos of the crowd could not sway the judges and Choi lost to a majority points decision.
In all, Oxford can look forward to the Varsity match with renewed optimism, after so many mature and aggressive performances from debutant and experienced campaigners alike.
18th Nov 2004