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Boxing first appeared on Notre Dame's campus in 1923 under the direction of legendary football coach Knute Rockne. Rockne started a boxing program primarily to keep his players in shape during the Spring semester. Originally, Notre Dame sent its boxers to face the top collegiate fighters in the Midwest. In 1930, however, every single Irish boxer was defeated and boxing was nearly dropped. Fortunately, Scholastic Magazine saved the program.

Neil C. Hurlew was the Managing Editor of the Scholastic during this time and saw Notre Dame Boxing as a unique opportunity. With the help of football coach Hunk Anderson, Hurley transformed the Notre Dame boxing program into the Bengal Bouts, where Irish boxers would fight each other, and there would be no intercollegiate competition. Furthermore, all revenues from the program would go to East Pakistan, to benefit the Holy Cross Missions.

The actual Bengal Bouts began in 1931 as one night, Fraternity Smokers at the Knights of Columbus raised a total of $301.25 for the Bengal Missions in Bangladesh. In its second year, Dominic J. "Nappy" Napolitano took over the program and began 55 years of involvement with Notre Dame Boxing. A 1932 graduate of Notre Dame, Nappy helped the Bengal Bouts rise to an amazing level of popularity. Advertised as boxing at its purest, the Bengal Bouts have received regular attention in the national media. Sports Illustrated once wrote a feature article on the program, and ABC's Wide World of Sports televised some of the fights in the 1960s. Recipients of the "Bengal Bouts Award," given yearly to a person associated with boxing and humanitarian causes, include Muhammad Ali and Tony Zale, the "Gary Man of Steel." Like all recipients of this award, Ali and Zale attended Bouts and witnessed Notre Dame's version of amateur boxing.

Since Nappy's death in the 1980s, the Notre Dame Boxing Club has remained strong. Over 100 students participate each year, and crowds of nearly 10,000 people come to see the three-day tournament. In 1997, over $23,000 was raised for the Bengal Missions, through ticket sales, advertising, and other fund-raising efforts. Tom Suddes, Terry Johnson, Pat Ferrell, and Dr. Charles Rice help coach the program, and Jack Zimmerman and Jack Mooney currently act as trainers.

Most Bengal Bout participants come into the program without any prior boxing experience. Notre Dame boxers are taught Olympic-style boxing, where the scoring is based on the number of punches landed, and solid technique and quickness are often more important than strengh. Unlike professional fighting, where boxers stand closer to each other and exchange more punches, the Bengal Bouts feature more movement and fewer punches. Spectators hoping to see several knockdowns are usually disappointed, although many fights do turn into brawls. Despite the seemingly brutal nature of the sport, few or no boxers have received serious bodily damage in almost 70 years of existence on Notre Dame's campus. The Bengal Bouts prefer to be characterized by the purity of their cause than the level of boxing ability demonstratd by participants. Nappy most clearly defined the purpose of Notre Dame Boxing, when he said, "Strong bodies fight that weak ones may be nourished."

History Provided By The Notre Dame Boxing Club