Forty two students and twenty one fights, we were ringside to give you a punch by punch report of all the action as it happened.
A thrilling Tuesday night saw Newcastle’s Student Union play host to Fight Night. Bright lights, black ties And booze drew students to the event in their hundreds, creating an electric atmosphere and an unforgettable night for fighters and spectators alike.
We were lucky enough to get our hands on ringside tickets to the event, having a front row seat for all twenty one fights to give you a rundown of the event as it happened.
Proceedings kicked off at 6:30pm with the first fight going the distance, a trend we would see throughout the night. With 14oz gloves (around 4oz heavier than the usual professional standard) and headgear worn for all the fights, knockdowns were hard to come by.
That didn’t make the fights any less intense. With three rounds lasting two minutes each, anyone that went the distance was in for a brutal test of skill and endurance. Something these students had been training tirelessly for in an eight week program.
As the night progressed and the last few stragglers made their way into the crowd from outside, it became clear why this event is one of the staples of the student year. A cacophony of cheers, screams, chants and boos filled the air, each big punch landed only intensifying the audience involvement.
A bitter cross university rivalry between Newcastle and Northumbria lingered throughout. Grudge matches between fighters from the cities opposing universities created a spectacle unmatched.
Provocative, often times malicious chants were thrown at any fighter that didn’t share a university with certain groups of the crowd. But isn’t that all part of the fun?
Keeping track of every result as they happened, it ended an extremely even night with 11 fighters out of the red corner winning, 9 in the blue and only a single draw.
Though all twenty one fights were packed with excitement, the general consensus was that the best performance came late into the night. In a fight that would see one of only two of the events knockouts.
Sam Millward took down Andrew Loy within 40 seconds, a convincing performance that equally shocked and delighted an audience starved of a proper stoppage.
Despite it being the second to last fight of the event, the energy in the venue had not dwindled as it seemed the organisers played into the cliche of saving the best for last.
Here’s some footage of the lead up to brutal knockout as it happened, courtesy of NUTV:
After the fight, we managed to catch up with Sam who said he thought “the fight felt chaotic. I didn’t feel as in control as everyone says I was. I still don’t think the adrenalines wore off so this all feels like a bit of a fever dream to me.”
Asking about the details of his eight week training camp, he revealed “it was much more independent than I first imagined. There were two coaches between forty plus people so one to one work was rare. If you didn’t put in the extra work outside the sessions you would be coming in unprepared.”
A winning moment, the referee raises Sam Millward’s arm | Video by Lucy Cuss
As the night came to a close and the crowd slowly filtered out to various after parties, the venue became quiet as it held memories of victory and loss.
Prior to experiencing Fight Night, I had heard from others that it was their favourite night of the year. Having high expectations going in, it is safe to say that the event lived up to everything it was described to be.
Win, lose or draw, all forty two fighters put on a spectacle for a huge crowd. Dedicating 8 weeks to training and putting your pride on the line is hugely commendable and no easy feat. I applaud everyone who stepped into the ring on Tuesday night.Without them, an event of this grandeur would never exist.
Have you been to a Fight Night? Let us know your experience of the event down below in the comments, or get in touch via our Instagram linked below. As always thank you for reading, be sure to stay tuned for the follow up article, where I assess the benefits and drawbacks to using boxing as a way to stay fit.
If you’re interested in getting involved in Fight Night yourself, they are currently taking applications for fighters in their upcoming events. Head over to fightnightnewcastle on Instagram to find out some more information
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