n spite of several bloody noses and bruised egos, most of the fighting ended with affectionate signs of respect among the 24 men who gave and took a beating Thursday night.
The crowd of supporters that showed up for the first-ever Battle of the Greeks, on the other hand, had some choice words for the judges and outcomes of the event, which was sponsored by Sigma Chi fraternity and cost an estimated $4,500.
The event raised about $3,000, according to Franklin sophomore Tyler Seymour, Sigma Chi fundraising chair. The majority of that money will be donated to Children’s Miracle Network.
Nine fraternities sponsored a boxer, who was then matched with an opponent of a similar weight.
Before the event kicked off at 7 p.m., the boxers were confined to a far corner room inside the Jaycees Pavilion on Morgantown Road.
Danville freshman Alejandro Gray, a heavyweight contender, chewed vigorously on his teal plastic mouthpiece. Although he had been weight training and doing cardio for several weeks before the match, the Sigma Nu member admitted he was a little nervous about the fight.
“But it’s nothing new to me,” he said of the effort he put into training. “I’m from Danville and we’ve won three state championships in football – you’ve got to work to get those.”
Minutes later, the bell rings and the first fight is underway.
The atmosphere was immediately electrified and stayed that way throughout the night.
Competing groups of students taunted each other from across the room between raucous cheers that resonated each time a hook met squarely with jaw bone or a boxer went hit the ring floor.
Gray’s matchup with Kappa Sigma’s Andrew Sigler introduced the first bloodshed of the evening; Gray was victorious.
“I feel I have more heart than any of these kids here,” Gray said. “I just try to not have ‘losing’ in my vocabulary. If I lose, it’s going to be me giving it all I’ve got.”
Reach Natasha Allen at features@wkuherald.com.
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