In a back alley behind Shiner Park, boxers swung ghost punches in preparation for Aggie Fight Night.
Members of participating men’s organizations and fraternities trained all semester long to get ready for Aggie Fight Night on Saturday, Feb. 22. All the proceeds from the sanctioned USA Boxing event benefited the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.
Business senior Carter Keating was one of several MC’s Saturday evening who helped orchestrate the tournament. Participants included members from Sigma Chi, Kappa Sigma, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Phi Gamma Delta, the Corps of Cadets and Aggie Men’s Alliance, as well as local boxers.
“It’s just a great atmosphere when we get the opportunity to get a bunch of guys out there, and everybody can have a good time while simultaneously raising money for a cause that I know is important to a bunch of people cancer is something that affects all of us,” Keating said.
The Huntsman Cancer Institute serves as a cancer patient hospital and a research institution. Keating said the money raised is all going to research cancers which disproportionately affect women.
As the fighters warmed up, everyone gathered around the ring which covered almost all of the dance floor, usually filled with party-goers and two-steppers. Late into the evening, boxers lined up, getting hyped up by their coaches. As they entered the ring, each competitor was met with cheers and boos as each organization supported their members in the ring.
Aidan Cawthra, an economics freshman, is a member of Sigma Chi and has been training three days a week all semester.
“This is my first fight. I’ve never fought before, so we’ll see how this goes,” Cawthra said. “We don’t get a lot of chances to watch boxing in the state of Texas, so I think it brings a lot of people out. I’ve felt like my preparation has been pretty good.”
Security was set up for the event to ensure nothing got out of hand after last year’s Fight Night was called off with one bout remaining due to fighting in the crowd. At one point after a brutal round, drinks were thrown. Since this was a sanctioned USA Boxing event, the officials temporarily halted the match to warn the crowd, but resumed thereafter.
Accounting junior Clay Johnson said hiring an increased amount of security made the night more enjoyable for all attendants.
“There are hundreds of people there, all supporting their friends and people in their organizations, so emotions can run high when Fight Night comes around,” Johnson said. “I felt that we made strong improvements. The event is great, and it’s for an awesome cause, so we wanted to ensure we can continue hosting it in the future, and make it more family-friendly to involve more people in the B-CS community, as well as faculty and staff at Texas A&M.”
Marshall Miller, economics junior and Phi Gamma Delta member, won the third round of the tournament.
“I feel a lot of anxiety the week of building up to it, just so much preparation that goes into it you don’t wanna have it all be for nothing,” Miller said. “Once I stepped into the ring, I felt completely fine. I gotta do what I trained for and what my coach Anthony told me to do.”
Miller said the guys train eight hours a week all semester long with Brazos Valley Mixed Martial Arts Gym.
“Fiji’s been training with them for a while,” Miller said. “They’re the best gym in town, so we’re glad to get another win for them. I dare say we have the best preparation out of anyone. We train five days a week.”