Boxers bring needed aid to Bangladesh
Charles Rice
In less time than it takes to read this column, you could easily spend $200 in the Notre Dame Bookstore, especially on a price-inflated football weekend.
In Bangladesh, many families among the 27 million "ultra poor" — one person in five in the entire country — live on less than that for an entire year. Over half of the children under 5 and over half of the mothers in Bangladesh are acutely and chronically malnourished. The poor are the chief victims also of an environmental crisis including arsenic contamination in villages and poisonous air and polluted water in the capital city of Dhaka. The country is still recovering from the 1998 floods, the worst in the century.
So why mention this? Because, at this time of year, we at Notre Dame can do something effective for the people of Bangladesh. Since 1931, the entire proceeds of the Bengal Bouts have been sent to the Holy Cross missionaries in Bangladesh, many of whom are grads of Notre Dame or Saint Mary's. The 1999 total was a record $51,000, a relatively enormous sum. "a dollar there," says Father Bill Seetch, boxing club chaplain, "is worth 10 times what it is here." The Holy Cross missionaries run seven primary schools and two colleges, Notre Dame and Holy Cross, with emphasis on the poor. The "compound of Notre Dame College," said Bengal Bouts coach Tom Suddes after his visit to Bangladesh, "is simple and really Spartan, but the poverty outside the walls of the college is like nothing you could ever imagine."
The boxing club, which conducts the Bengal Bouts under the supervision of Rich O'Leary of Rec Sports, does two things. First, it provides a significant and even life-saving force for good in its support of the Holy Cross missions. Second, it provides its members a uniquely formative experience. "The boxers," says Father Seetch, "come away from the program with more than bruised lips and black eyes. They gain a quiet confidence that comes from knowing you have made a difference in the lives of others half a world away."
The club officers — president J. R. Mellin, Tom Biolchini, Brian Hobbins, Mike Maguire, Mike Romanchek, Pete Ryan and Josh Thompson — actually run the program. This year 180 boxers began training and a record number will compete. The Bouts will be in four sessions in the Joyce Center. You can buy tickets from any boxer or at the Joyce Center. The boxers also raise money by selling program ads.
The coaches, all former Bengal Bouts champs, are Terry Johnson, a Chicago attorney; Tom Suddes, a Columbus, Ohio, developer, and Pat Farrell, the University pilot. They devote great blocks of time to the program. They are helped by exceptional assistant coaches, especially Sweet C. Robinson and recent Bengals champs Ryan Rans, '98, Chip Farrell, '98 and Toby Biolchini, '96. Roland Chamblee, '73, a four-time Bengals champ, adds a unique dimension as probably the only state court judge who also serves as a cornerman in the ring.
The program emphasizes safety. Dr. James M. Moriarty, University chief of medicine, carefully screens and oversees the boxers. No sparring is conducted without paramedics at ringside. We have never had a serious injury beyond an occasional redirected nose and similar inconveniences. Everyone in the program is intent on maintaining that record.
The heart of the program is trainer Jack Mooney, a mere youth of 86 years. Jack, who was Knute Rockne's paperboy, assisted Bengal Bouts founder Dominic Napolitano in the early years. Jack prepares the boxers for their sparring sessions and debriefs them afterward. As any boxer will tell you, Jack is unforgettable. His assistant, Jack Zimmerman, is not only an effective trainer but also a poet and a professional accordionist. The boxing club, it must be acknowledged, is utterly dependent on the administrative skills of Meghan Kelley, '02, of Pasquerilla East. Last year Meghan and Emily Schmidt, '99, brought the program to a new level of efficiency. Meghan, assisted by Claire Dampeer, '02, is carrying on this year without skipping a beat.
I hope the members of the Notre Dame community will continue their exceptional support for the Bengal Bouts. You are welcome to visit the practices in the JACC Boxing Room any weekday from 4 to 6 p.m. I think you will be favorably impressed.
Professor Rice is on the law school faculty and is faculty advisor to the boxing club.
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
All Viewpoint Stories for Friday, February 4, 2000
