Glasgow University Boxing Club hosted its October Fight Night in the GUU with some cracking contests.
Glasgow University Boxing Club (GUBC) hosted its second Fight Night on the weekend of October 20-22. Golden Gloves Fight Night was an exhibition fight dubbed by the hosts as “undeniably the best night of the year.” The event took place in the Glasgow University Union (GUU) Debates Chamber, with a boxing ring taking over the first floor of the room. The line-up, which had been published the week before the event, featured strong fighters that had ticket holders excited for the upcoming event.
Fight Night is a big event for the GUBC and a lot of organisation and time goes into the build-up of the event. For the fourteen fighters involved, this means extra training at an intense pace for a month. This training is delivered by the usual team coaches, Liam McCafferty and Bryan McEachan, but a lot of the fighters receive help from their peers within the team. On an early Sunday morning at Kynoch Gym, fighter and the club’s Female Vice Captain Seona ‘The Slayer’ could be seen receiving coaching from the GUBC Treasurer, Kirsty Gillies. Not too far away, Welfare Convenor Jamie Valentine would be coaching John ‘JJ’ Wilson for his upcoming fight. The coaching was not reserved to the more experienced boxers of the club who weren’t participating in the Golden Gloves Fight Night though. Instead, the fighters helped one another improve and excel in order to deliver a good show together on the night of the event.
This hard work paid off, with energetic fights keeping the audience hyped. GUBC Fight Night was made even more exhilarating by the DJs who didn’t let the energy level dip during the breaks between fights and made sure to blast each fighter’s walk-in song loud and proud. As usual, Fight Night also had MCs who played a vital role in creating a lively and festive atmosphere. As the time drew closer to the first fight, the audience gathered in the GUU carrying pints of fun and witty signs in support of their friends.
Starting with a slight delay in order to let latecomers settle in, GUBC Fight Night kicked off with a bang, featuring Raza ‘the Kamikaze’ Kazi vs ‘Not Like The Other Asians’ Oliver. Both fighters felt the pressure of opening the night although Raza admitted that, “in hindsight, I feel silly for being nervous for Fight Night as it’s all fun and games.” Both boys gave the audience a brilliant show, swinging hard and moving quickly. Oliver was a crowd favourite, with an enthusiastic group of friends chanting his name proudly as he dominated the boxing ring. However, Raza did not make the fight easy for his opponent, nor did his supportive friends who rivalled the chants cheering his opponent.
Hot on their trail, Scott ‘Doric Dodger’ Freckingham and Haadi ‘The Executioner’ entered the ring and engaged in an intense battle. This was a high-paced and violent fight, which set the energetic tone for the rest of the night. As with most Fight Nights, as the evening progressed and the levels of the fighters increased on a slight echelon, the crowd became louder and the atmosphere pleasantly more chaotic. The energy levels soared throughout the next five fights, with each pair of fighters giving it their all and really displaying the results of the intense one-month training they did in preparation for the event. GUBC promised “blood, sweat, and tears” and the fighters provided. Blood was drawn twice, with both Connor ‘The Chosen One’ and Taylor ‘The Bullet’ Blake walking away with bloody noses.
Finally, the closing fight kicked off, with John ‘JJ’ Wilson in the ring against fighter Henrik. A much-anticipated match, the two fighters did not disappoint. Their quick footwork, rapid reflexes, and powerful punches had the crowd cheering as loudly for the fighter in the red corner as for his opponent in the blue corner. After three rounds of slipping, rolling, jabbing, and hooking, the bell rang to mark the end of the final match. The crowd cheered and applauded loudly for a last time before hurrying down to the GUU Beer Bar to catch the fighters and congratulate them.
Fight Night Golden Gloves was a stellar success. First-time Fight Night attendee Alex Berger said that “each fighter gave it their all and none of them were boring to watch” and that despite a smaller crowd, Golden Gloves was “a very entertaining night” and she would definitely go to another GUBC Fight Night. Indeed, if the crowd was smaller than GUBC is used to attracting to their events, their enthusiasm made up for the empty seats, and the fighters put on a real show.
