Boxing team to host matches on campus
By Alison Fleck
In memory of Santa Clara's beloved boxer Dodge Ackerman, the University's boxing team will host its first non-exhibition match this Saturday at 4 p.m. The Broncos are 3-0.
"The boxing club wanted to name the match after him to commemorate his outstanding career as a boxer who won the national championship his first year boxing for Santa Clara," senior Patrick Gilligan said. After graduating, Ackerman was planning on joining the Marines to serve his country, but before he was able to do so he was diagnosed with severe cancer and died shortly afterwards. The event was named the Dodge Ackerman Memorial in remembrance.
A ring will be set up on the basketball courts in Pat Malley Center with stadium seating surrounding it. This will constitute Santa Clara's third boxing match this year.
"There's basically not a bad seat in the house because you can see everything," senior captain Mike Harvey said. "You are really close to the action, and since there are only three two-minute rounds, things can get pretty intense towards the end of a round."
Boxing is Santa Clara's oldest club sport, despite the fact that the University does not provide a boxing ring for the athletes. The team is self-funded with much of the equipment donated by alumni. The team travels to San Jose often to practice with the San Jose Police Athletic league.
"Our coach is Candy Lopez, who was the assistant coach for the Olympic team, so we heavily recruited a good coaching staff," Gilligan said.
The Broncos are in the Western Division and compete against the Air Force Academy, Arizona State, University of Reno, San Jose State, University of Las Vegas, University of California at Berkeley and the University of San Francisco. However, the league is mostly based on the individual level, meaning that only the individual can win a match, not the school. Contestants are matched up with an opponent based on weight and experience. Despite this level of individuality intrinsic to the sport, the Broncos still practice together and cheer on their teammates during competitions.
"The seniors are great leaders and good examples for us," freshman Arturo Ramirez said. "When it comes down to sparring or working out, they are always motivating us to do 10 more push-ups, 10 more sit-ups. They train us hard and give us advice in the ring."
The team practices Monday through Thursday for at least one and a half hours every day. Practices on Tuesday and Thursday are in Malley, while practices on Monday and Wednesday are in San Jose. Each day the team warms up and gets right into circuit training, which consists of the teammates rotating through different stations such as the heavy bag, quick-feet drills and punching bags. For the majority of the practice, the athletes engage in core-strengthening and sparring.
"There are probably 18 newcomers that come sporadically, but there are 10 or so who are dedicated and want to fight," Harvey said. "With the experienced members included, we are an essential core of 10 members."
In addition to Gilligan and Harvey, senior Jake Robinson also is an experienced boxer who has fought this year after returning from training with the Marines last year. Ramirez also has participated in fights.
This past weekend was a victorious one for the Broncos in their match down at UC Berkeley.
"Arturo faced a boxer from Reno at 125 pounds and won by decision. Patrick boxed a guy from Cal at 165 pounds and also won by decision," Harvey said. "I boxed a 195 pound guy from Cal and won by total knockout halfway through the second round. We were 3-0!"
Winning by decision is based on how the judges assign points for total number of hits on the front area of the opponent's body.
"You want to hit the guy anywhere in the front chest region. It doesn't really matter how hard you hit them as where you hit them," Harvey explained. "But you still want to hit them as hard as you can."
When asked what the hardest part about boxing was, it wasn't the injuries that these boxers said -- it was the dieting.
"I really hate dieting," Gilligan said. "There's training in the sauna for a little bit before a match to lose weight. I didn't eat a whole day before the regional fight, which was a bad idea to begin with."
After being on a diet for two months that consisted of nothing more than canned tuna salad without dressing, Harvey can relate. Despite this, however, he acknowledged that the hardest part about boxing is losing.
"Boxing is always misconceived as a pure fighting sport," Harvey said. "What people don't realize is that it is not fighting as much as it is a strategic sport. If you go in with the mentality that you're going to fight your opponent, you're going to get physically and mentally exhausted and lose. To win, you must learn strategies and be quick."
Harvey was third in the nation last year after defeating his opponent in the last 30 seconds in the regional round, advancing him the semifinals. He hopes to advance even farther this year and hopes that people make it out to their match this Saturday.
"The fan support is awesome at matches," Harvey said. "If you put on a good show, people will cheer for you. You hear the crowd when they're chanting your name and it motivates you."
* Contact Alison Fleck at (408) 551-1918 or afleck@scu.edu