Live Reporting: Faniki Deche, Sports Editor, Adam Mountain, Co-Deputy Sports Editor, Sean Lawrenson, Co-Deputy Sports Editor, Mihai Rosca, Co-Deputy Sports Editor, Karen Mends, Opinions Editor, and Rachel Shortall, Second Year, Philosophy and English.
Epigram returns with more live coverage of the biggest Bristol student sporting events of the year. Tonight we will be bringing you ringside coverage of Bristol Student Fight Night live from SWX. With eleven out of twenty-one bouts being fought between students of University of Bristol and University of the West of England, the stakes are higher than ever as this evening's fighters will be gunning for both personal glory and their university's bragging rights. Join us as we bring you live reporting on all fights and the latest pre- and post-fight reactions from competitors, coaches and the crowd. Please refresh the page every few minutes to load the latest updates from tonight's clashes.
20:20 - The second round plays out much like the first: both fighters showing an ability to land some very heavy punches, but Chang looks that little bit lighter on his feet. 'The Notorious' is looking increasingly tired compared to Chang, who will want to finish his opponent off now.
20:17 - A good start from Mitchell slightly unravels as the round drew on. Chang, who is really getting some grief from the crowd, seems to be utilising this to his advantage, and by the end of the certainly held the advantage.
20:14 - Fight 10: Another heated UoB vs UWE clash up next. 'The Notorious' Ollie Mitchell waltzes in red out to the delight of most of this crowd. Chang walks out to a cacophony of boos and takes the blue corner.
20:12 - Karen has found UoB’s own Rory Chang, who feels incredibly confident before his fight against UWE’s Ollie Mitchell. ‘I had a muay Thai fight in Thailand and that made me want to get into boxing when I got to uni. I feel really good for my upcoming fight, don’t want to be cocky but I’m feeling quite good. I’ve sparred my opponent before but we both didn’t want to show too much but it was alright. In terms of tactics for the fight, I’m just going to throw some jabs at the start and don’t want to do anything too aggressive till later.’
20:10 - Technical Knockout! King Khoung gives us a dominant display. A comfortable fight for the blue fighter and as expected the referee ends the contest before we even reached the second round.
20:08 - This is not a great start for Sunya, who did well to not lose his balance following wave after wave of Nguyen punching. The referee will be watching this closely, but I doubt Sunya will see to the end of three rounds.
20:06 - Fight 9: Immediately onto our next fight, we have an all UWE affair. Aranku 'D.' Sunya is sporting the red gloves, while Muay Thai martial artist King Khoung Nguyen dons the blue.
20:01 - Technical Knockout! Powerful sorcery from 'The Wizard'? Just like that, the fight has been called in the first round. 'The Wizard' looked a class above his opponent out there and did not let him get off the ropes for even one moment. A bitter pill for the 'Stinger' to swallow, but he was just schooled by 'The Wizard'.
19:58 - Fight 8: Next up we have an all UoB clash selected as one of coach Paul's pick. In the red corner, Sam 'Stinger' Hartop walks out to a swarm of boos, while Ollie 'The Wizard' Wells will be hoping to conjure up some magic in blue.
19:55 - Ayihsah is crowned winner! A brilliant fight sees Ayihsah just clinch the win, albeit by the skin of her teeth. Neither fighter left anything in the ring and Ayihsah will be delighted to take the win having worked so hard.
19:52 - Round two has been excellent as well. Both fighters showing that they will not give up here. While Ayihsah might have edged the first round, the iron fist of Nobles did require the referee to check Ayihsah was okay. All to play for in the final round.
19:48 - Both fighters saw periods of control in that round. 'Iron Fist' came out the stronger of the two landing a succession of clean strikes to the head and one particularly strong strike to the body, which might have winded Ayihsah. However, Ayisah did well to recover and landed a number of mighty crosses to the face of Nobles.
19:46 - Fight 7: We have our second and final women's fight of the night. Both waving the UoB flag, in the red corner Izzy 'Iron Fist' Nobles struts out and Iron Ayihsah follows in the blue. Both look very confident that they can win this.
19:43 - Technical Knockout! A demolition job from Rumaldo. Just as we spoke about Chapman holding on the referee declares that enough is enough. It was thoroughly dominant from Rumaldo who ecstatically celebrates.
19:41 - This is getting ugly now and Chapman will do well to hang on in during this third round. His gameplan appears to be damage limitation at this point. Rumaldo could not be enjoying this more.
19:38 - Rumaldo is not messing about! Rumaldo comes flying out of the blocks and is simply to quick for 'The VK Viking', landing a succession of heavy strikes clean on his opponents nose. As the round continues, Rumaldo lands not one, but two, lethal crosses to send Chapman crashing down.
19:35 - Fight 6: A very pumped up Eric Rumaldo charges into the red corner while roaring. The much calmer Todd 'The VK Viking' Chapman fills the blue corner.
19:32 - We are pausing the action for one moment as one very unhappy individual pushes his way through the crowd to use some choice language towards the referee.
19:30 - The 'Hurricane' has just blown his opponent away. UoB equalise with a brilliant final round that exploded into life. Both fighters seemed to share the mentality that they could knock their opponent out before the other, as that final round saw little by way of defending. Smith will be delighted to have narrowly edged that one (and so are we).
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19:30: UoB 1-1 UWE
19:27 - Similar stuff in the second round, and the judges won't be having fun trying to pick out a winner between these two. What initially looked like a slight advantage for the 'Hurricane' may well have diminished.
19:24 - Another competitive fight, but UoB's 'Hurricane' will be the happier of the two landing one potentially crucial hook into Luka's right cheek.
19:20 - Fight 5: Expected some seriously heavy hitting as UWE Boxer Max 'ML' Luka takes up the red corner, while UoB weightlifter, Harry 'The Hurricane' Smith stands cooly in the blue.
19:17 - Russell Yates has been speaking to Faniki following his dominant performance against Connor Reid. ‘I always knew he was orthodox. I have the outside reach on him. He was always trying to outstep me so I made sure whilst he was stepping into position, I’d throw a punch at him.’ Yates was in complete control of that one, inflicting a serious amount of damage to Reid.
19:16 - 'Superman' wins with a heroic performance! By the narrowest of margins Newton Young reigns victorious. We are being told that the fight was very nearly a draw and certainly on another night McSweeney could have taken that victory.
19:15 - The third round draws to close and we really couldn't say who has won that one. Both fighters landed some very heavy blows.
19:13 - What a contest! A monstrous hook from the 'Fish' is met with a huge roar from the crowd, before 'Superman' responds with a brilliant one-two to keep his opponent penned in the corner for what must have felt an age for the 'Fish'. This fight will be decided in the final round.
19:10 - This is looking like our tighest fight of the night so far. Both competitors have done well to limit their opponent. If anyone, the 'Fish' came out the slightly stronger, having landed a clean cross to 'Superman's' head early in the round, but it's still all to play for.
19:07 - Fight 4: One of coach Paul's personally selected fights as the ones to watch, both representing UWE, in the red corner we have Phil 'Superman' Newton Young, and in the blue, Joe 'Fish' McSweeney.
19:04 - Technical Knockout! 'Make 'em Dizzy' does just that! The second round continued much as the first and Izzy Hood celebrates in front of her fans. Hood ran the show from the off and eventually the referee was correct to call it an end early.
19:01 - Rampant from Hood! Izzy 'Make 'em Dizzy' enjoyed perhaps the perfect start and she has made Mer'slay'des really suffer in that opening round. This is looking like an uneven matchup.
18:57 - Izzy ‘Make ‘em’ Dizzy’ Hood has just been having a quick chat with Karen ahead of her fight against Mer'slay'des. She said she hadn’t sparred with Mercedes before, and noted her experience as a ring girl before, claiming it will make her better prepared for the atmosphere. We will find out how she gets on shortly.
18:56 - Fight 3: Our first female competitors step out into the ring. Both from UoB, we have Mer'slay'des in the red, and Izzy 'Make 'em Dizzy' Hood in the blue.
18:54 - UWE take the lead! 'The K.O. Komrade' was excellent throughout and was a deserved winner. Despite 'The South Coast Smacker' still landing some decent crosses to his opponent, UWE fans will certainly take confidence that they can win following this.
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18:54 - UoB 0-1 UWE
18:50 - 'The South Coast Smacker' needs to be very careful to not let this get beyond his control too quickly. Tatu enjoyed another very dominant round, and the referee made sure to check the UoB student was okay. This is looking like a first UWE win.
18:47 - 'The K.O. Komrade' will certainly be the happier of the two at the end of that first round. Generally looking lighter on his feet, Tatu managed to control the tempo of the fight well and so far has not looked troubled by 'The South Coast Smacker'.
18:45 - Mihai’s also been having a chat with a few of Liam ‘The South Coast Smacker’ Catchpole’s friends, who’s on next. ‘He told me about his intention to bring the pain. Liam’s a born killer. He will make this crowd very happy tonight.’
18:44 - Fight 2: Our first fight for university pride! For UWE, out steps Darius 'The K.O. Komrade' Tatu in the red. In the blue corner, UoB's Liam 'The South Coast Smacker'.
18:40 - A dominant display from Yates seals the win! That was rampant from Yates, who clearly sensed he had the beating of his opponent. A brilliant hook to the face knocked Reid to his feet early in the final round, and frankly looked relieved to hear the bell ring at the end.
18:36 - That was excellent from Yates, who landed a string of clean strikes right into 'The Hurricane's' face, before doing well to evade from being hit himself. 'The Hurricane' is currently bleeding quite heavily and will need to compose himself before the final round.
18:33 - A very energetic start from both fighters, who both showed very quick footwork to generally evade the other. Not much to split the two as of yet.
18:31 - The bell rings and tonight's fighting is underway!
18:29 - The noise in this place is reaching deafening levels currently. Everyone in SWX is very much up for this!
18:27 - Here we go! We begin proceedings tonight with what is sure to be a corker! Getting us underway, we have the UWE Royale, where returning champions will be battling to hold onto their title. In the red corner, Connor ‘The Harare Hurricane’ Reid steps out, and Russell ‘Dwayne’ Yates takes up his position in the blue.
18:26 - ‘The notorious’ Ollie Mitchell spoke to Mihai, feeling quietly confident about his chances against Chang. "I won't comment on my tactics, but I slept in today, Woke up at eleven, got a good nights sleep. I’m feeling excited.’
18:23 - Up next the Bristo Jets take to the ring for a typically excellent performance.
18:22 - Karen has just had a quick chat with two of UoB’s fighters, Iron Ayisha and Izzy ‘Iron Fist’ Nobles, who will face off against each other later on. Ayishah was confident, declaring she was ‘mainly nervous for the walkout rather than the actual fight.’ Izzy Noble is ready for business, and is excited to walk out to ‘hey sexy’ by Sexy Redd. With Ayishah bringing friends who have only recently graduated, it’s more than just the result on the line in this one.
18:20 - A rivalry for the ages. Of course, half of these fighters will be feeling the additional nerves that come with representing their university. From first-hand experience, we can assure you the rivalry between UoB and UWE is not something to make light of, and the divided allegiances among this crowd are clear to see (we have no biases, of course). The tension in the room will no doubt rub off on the fighters, and how well they can cope with this is likely to prove the difference between victory and defeat.
18:19 - Out step the UWE Comets to begin tonight's entertainment in what is a very busy SWX now!
18:18 - Faniki has just caught up with Todd Chapman ahead of his fight against Eric Rumaldo later in the night, "I'm feeling good. It can go either way but I'm confident. They’ll be lots of movement, ducking, diving across the ring. It’ll be good."
18:17 - Nerves? What nerves? You can forgive the fighters for maybe feeling the pressure right now. We expect SWX to be rocking tonight and all the competitors will be desperate to win after eight weeks of intensive training.
18:15 - Women in boxing. Many of you may also have noticed that there will only be four female competitors this evening. Before the action begins tonight, be sure to read Karen and Rachel’s article where they joined Mercedes, Ayishah, Izzy H and Izzy N (all of whom will be representing UoB) during one of their final sparring sessions to discuss their experiences of participating in such a male-dominated sport. You will be glad to hear that they remain unfazed and raring to go, and we can only hope that this will encourage more women to take to the ring for the next Fight Night in March.
18:13 - "I’m quite calm and excited to get into the ring. I’ll keep it cool in the first round and in the second round we’ll see what happens. I think it’s gonna be a great fight. 3rd round split decision I think I’ll take the win." - Max Luka
18:08 - Cherry-picked. You will notice a selection of fights have been categorised by Bristol Student Fight Night under certain titles, which they describe as: UWE Royale – Returning UWE champions will go head to head to hold onto their winning title. Paul’s Pick – These fights have been selected by the coach Paul as the ones to watch. TE Smackdown – One Team Entrepreneurship course. Two students. There can only be one winner… Battle of Britain – One Brit and one Frenchman who will win this battle? Clash of the Titans – 6’5” v 6’1” the titans take to the ring to declare just one winner. We cannot wait for these!
"Lots of first time performers, feeling ready to kick off the show" - UWE Cheerleading team.
18:06 - Coming up tonight: This evening’s fight schedule is below, with our first contest out of twenty-one beginning at 18:30. Each fight will be 3x2 minute rounds, where the judges will decide the winner at the end provided we do not have a knockout. We will also see an opening performance from UWE Comets and Bristol Jets, while UWE Dance will keep us entertained during the interval.
18:03 - We are back! Good evening all and welcome as Epigram returns with more live boxing coverage. We are at SWX for tonight’s Bristol Student Fight Night, and we hope you are excited as we are. Bringing you every bit of tonight’s action on this page is myself, Adam, and my wonderful colleague sat alongside me, Sean. We have Faniki and Karen in the dressing rooms to get the latest insights from the fighters, while Mihai and Rachel are in the centre of it all, bringing us all the reactions from this absolutely bouncing crowd.
