BENGAL BOUTS: Steinbach survives bloody fight to move to semifinals in 130 -lbs.
By KEVIN BERCHOU
Sports Writer
Though he looked very much the worse for wear, senior boxer Tom "Gun" Steinbach was as pleased as can be Monday night after his quarterfinal bout with Brian "The Boxer Rebellion" Kenney.
Badly bloodied by a barrage of Kenney connections, Steinbach was forced to retreat no less than three times to his corner for treatment. That, however did not prevent the southpaw from mounting a third round charge.
Battling Kenny's superior reach, Steinbach took his wares inside in a ferocious third round duel that proved the difference in what would be a split decision.
"I'd sparred him before," Steinbach said. "I just tried to lead with my right and follow up with my left."
The second bout of the evening proved equally dramatic. Derrick Bravo, who was not even supposed to fight due to a foot injury, defeated Coleman Lechner in a fight that was ended by the referee just 29 seconds into the second round.
"I didn't think I was going to go,"Bravo said. "But my roommate was like `You've worked this whole time. You have to go.'"
Bravo said he tried to ignore his foot injury.
"I tried to stay off it at first,"Bravo said. "But I really didn't think about it too much."
135 pounds
Tony Hollowell believed he had a shot all along and it turns out he was right.
In the night's biggest upset, Hollowell, a freshman, stunned defending champion senior Matt Fumagalli.
"He was the favorite," Hollowell said. "But I never go into a fight thinking I'm going to lose. I busted my butt and gained confidence early."
He calls himself "The Quiet Man" but Ryan Duffey was anything but, scoring a technical knockout loud and clear a mere 25 seconds into the second round of his bout with Guillermo Tijerina.
A patient Duffey let his opponent come to him before striking.
"I felt good in there," said the Sorin College sophomore of his first ever bout. "I figured I'd let him come to me and get tired. Then I'd attack and get in a lot of shots."
Early on, Duffey blasted Tijerina with a shot to the chin that drew blood prompting the official to end the fight.
Sophomore Joshua Coleman followed up Duffey's impressive showing with a big win over Justin Pendarvis. The speedy Coleman landed a barrage of flurries, notching a unanimous decision victory.
Jason McMahon, a junior from Morrissey Manor, rounded out the weight class' action with a hard-fought victory over Christopher Cardillo.
145 pounds
Michael "Mad Man" Waldo performed brilliantly, serving notice that he is indeed a force to be reckoned with, as he scored a unanimous decision over Daniel Gonzalez.
Meanwhile, in perhaps the night's most entertaining duel. Andrew "The Golden Arms'" Harms narrowly outlasted a very game Anthony D'Agostino.
After scoring a first round knockdown, Harms thought the fight was in hand, but D'Agostino rallied in the third with a last gasp flurry that brought the house to its feet.
"He fought hard," Harms said. "You have to give him a ton of credit. I thought it was the best fight of the Bouts so far."
D'Agostino concurred.
"He's a tough kid," the loser of the split-decision said. "It was a great fight."
The fight was so great, perhaps because both brawlers knew precisely how to counteract each other's style.
"He came at me on the outside," Harms said. "I just tried to get him on the inside. It was a good tactical fight."
Jeman "Swiff-T" Tisby provided a worthy encore in winning another tactically superior bout over Eric Eddy.
"It was a good, clean fight," Tisby said. "I think my technique was a little better, but both of us were able to get in and get out. There were some good exchanges."
Tisby's tactical abilities help set up his devastating overhand right, an unexpected blow.
"That's not one of the punches we work on in practice," said Tisby. "It's definitely a surprise."
Upstart first-year boxer Jason Voss continued his rise through the ranks as he scored a relatively easy decision over Anton "Ton of Bricks Poundin' Down on Yo Face" Kemps.
All Sports Stories for Tuesday, February 27, 2001
