Amongst a sea of cheering fans, the punches flew as blurs of red and blue. After hours of hard-fought rounds, only 10 boxers left Legends Event Center victorious. 

On Thursday night, the Aggie Boxing Club held its second annual Farmer’s Fight Night charity event in which 20 boxers battled it out in the ring. Over 600 attendees watched as 13 Texas A&M students stepped into the ring for their first amateur fights after months of strenuous training and tryouts.

“The tryouts were really hard,” computer science junior Daniel McCord said. “We did a Murph and that was not fun doing, but it really showed how mentally strong you were.”

Murph, a popular workout created by CrossFit, consists of a one-mile run, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups and 300 air squats, followed by another one-mile run. The workout was only the first round of tryouts and were followed by more intense training. 

“Those hard sparring days were tough,” construction science sophomore Brandon LeBlanc said. “You got personal. Face to face. Some people broke noses, but it’s just about showing up. Even if you’re tired, you’re hungry or you’re not feeling your best that day, you have to show up because you have to make progress.” 

After months of preparation, six Aggie fighters came out on top. This one-of-a-kind Aggie event offered new boxers the opportunity to compete in safe matches and show off their hard work. 

This year, the boxing club expanded their horizons by opening the event to more than just A&M students. Seven boxers from across the state travelled to Bryan-College Station to take part in the event, ensuring a competitive lineup. 

While the fights were the highlight of the night, people behind the scenes’ preparation helped make the event possible. International affairs graduate student and club president Chase Johnson said that the extensive planning from him and his team has helped him fulfill his purpose for the organization. 

“I love serving people,” Johnson said. “For me, this is a way I get to do that. Especially running the event, organizing​ the people and putting them in a place that they never probably thought they would ever be. For a lot of people, that’s just awesome to see.” 

From an international round​​ to a fight that pinned an A&M boxer against fighter from Texas State , this year’s list of bouts kept the audience on their toes. 

Bout eight featured a fight between Australian kinesiology sophomore Savian Bertamini, against China native and agricultural economics freshman Jinxi Li. The international fight ended quickly in round two due to a technical knockout call, or TKO, by the referee, declaring Li the victor. 

This wasn’t the only round ended by TKO that night. Numerous fights were called off early by the referee. 

In the last bout of the night, management information systems senior Elvin Venegas faced Texas State’s Brysen Davis. After Venegas took too many blows to the head, the round was called in Davis’s favor. 

“The judges felt like I was taking too many hits so they stopped it in the third round which I understand,” Venegas said. “I felt like I could’ve kept going but I’m also grateful for the judges for looking out for my safety.” 

While the bout didn’t end in Venegas’ favor, he takes pride in his opportunity to be the sole Aggie to take on an outside competitor in his first-ever fight. 

“I came out here and gave it my all,” Venegas said. “I didn’t win unfortunately but regardless I did what I set out to do, I wanted to get this amateur fight under my belt. Whether win or lose, I really enjoyed myself out there.” 

Farmer’s Fight Night allowed a new group of young boxers to compete in their first fights, while also providing them valuable life lessons to take with them beyond the ring. 

“You can do anything you put your mind to,” sport management senior João Haddad said. “This time last year, I would have never thought I would be on the stage and much less win. This is just boxing but life in general, if you set your mind to it, you can do it.”