A collegiate boxing match lasts eight minutes, with three two-minute rounds and a minute of rest in between each round. These 8 minutes are full of nerves, a rush of adrenaline, punches to the face, and a sense that time no longer exists. For four members of NSU’s Boxing Club, these eight minutes are what separated them from a collegiate boxing championship.
In early April, they competed in the 2014 United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association’s (USIA) National Boxing Championships held at the University of Miami. Each of these boxers had vigorously prepared and trained for the last three months, but this was their first official tournament and time in the ring.
Brandon Jean, junior business finance major and the club’s vice president, said, “The preparation was long. Most of us have been practicing to compete for about three months, learning advanced footwork and different styles of fighting.”
The tournament was set up by weight class with a single elimination style bracket system. Within three days, 18 different college boxing teams from around the country competed.
Denis Shatilov, senior business administration major, had only been boxing for about six months before competing in the tournament.
“The preparation was intense. We knew three months ahead that we were going to be competing. We didn’t know who our opponents were and almost all of our team had never been in a fight before,” said Shatilov.
Leading up to the tournament, Shatilov and the rest of the team tried to stay optimistic and focused on the matches they were going to compete in.
“We were making jokes like ‘good luck on getting some sleep’ because of the nerves. I was also watching my diet and trying to stay away from anything that could deteriorate my performance,” said Shatilov.
Shatilov, who fought in the men’s 201 beginner weight class, competed in two matches. He won his first by count out, which qualified him for his weight classes championship match.
Going into the championship match, Shatilov tried to stay confident and remember all the training and preparation he had done that lead him to this moment.
“When it was my turn, I was kind of nervous. But you have to eliminate that because if you allow the nerves to overwhelm you, it will waste your energy. For me, I was just trying to focus,” said Shatilov.
After three rounds of back and forth between both competitors, the decision of choosing a winner was left up to the judges, who crowned Shatilov national champion. Lance Singleton placed second in his weight class.
Even though boxing is an individual sport, Shatilov credits his coaches and the rest of his team for his victory through the support they gave him.
“It’s is very important for me to have that team effort. We each push each other to work harder and raise our level. Our coaches are also incredible because they are always on time with a good attitude. It’s honestly like having a family,” said Shatilov.
NSU’s Boxing Club was created in the fall of 2012, with the goal of introducing the sport to the university community. Today, its seven active members practice three times a week, learning the fundamentals and working on conditioning. Since the club started, the students and coaches have devoted themselves to properly train and learning the skills they would need to compete at a collegiate level.
Though Jean lost his first match at the tournament, as did Nikita Sologubov, he is proud of how far the club has come in such a short time and is sure that Shatilov’s win will just bring a positive light to the collegiate boxing program at NSU.
“I feel we did a fantastic job and I couldn’t ask for more from the people that trained hard with me for so long. I expect that in the future to get more students to participate and have more champions,” said Jean.
