As Notre Dame men’s boxing club enters its 96th year, a new team of senior captains will look to continue Bengal Bouts’ historic legacy, both in and out of the ring.
Bengal Bouts describes itself first and foremost as a “service club”, looking to execute this service through athletics as the world’s largest intercollegiate boxing tournament. As a charitable organization, their main goal is to support Holy Cross Missions in Bangladesh, and all funds from the tournament go toward funding education for Bangladeshi children, a cause very close to the hearts of many in the Notre Dame community.
Bengal Bouts is one of Notre Dame’s most storied organizations and represents what it means to be Irish. The club dates back to 1920, when Knute Rockne first organized boxing here at the University and it gained its lasting identity in 1931 when it began raising funds for Holy Cross Missions in Bangladesh. In its early days, it was legendary coach Dominic “Nappy” Napolitano who sat at the heart of the organization, embodying the motto “Strong bodies fight, that weak bodies may be nourished”. The organization has only blossomed since its founding, growing into the club it is today, which carries forth the traditions of sportsmanship, safety and competitive spirit upon which it was built.
For senior captain Ryan Lally, Bengal Bouts is a family affair, as he claims his earliest Notre Dame memories are of coming to watch his brother compete in the event. When the St. Louis native, who currently resides as an RA in Coyle Community in Zahm Hall, arrived at Notre Dame in 2022, he was unsure whether boxing was for him. However, in his own words, “curiosity killed the cat,” and he went to a practice and has not looked back since.
When asked about how being a captain has changed his Bengal Bouts experience, Lally highlighted how participation in the club makes you realize it serves a purpose much bigger than yourself. His role as social captain has enhanced this, showing him that “as a leader you can’t ask or encourage people to do something you aren’t willing to do yourself, whether it be in fundraising, in sparring, in our mission or in the tournament itself.”
When senior Isaac Culp turned up to Bengal Bouts with his freshman-year random roommate four years ago, it is likely he could not have foreseen the impact it would have on his time here at Notre Dame. In an attempt to avoid the dreaded freshman fifteen and meet some new people in the process, Culp found Bengal Bouts and, in turn, a brotherhood that has provided him with a support network that runs deeper than mere teammates. Culp shined a light on how the club brings men together, both through boxing and service, stating “you develop a lot of bonds real quick, because it is pretty brutal, and then you kind of get that community aspect going, and then you learn about the actual purpose of the club in regard to the missions in Bangladesh — it’s very unifying.”
The idea that “every punch you're throwing has a chain reaction response, which manifests in the service we do across the world” is something which seemed to resonate strongly with Culp, as he stressed that “the harder we train our club members, the better boxing that we can present that drives the entertainment, which makes it a more attractive charity event, which means that we raise more money.”
Senior Richie Mistichelli has been thriving in his role as workout captain for the club this year, and his workouts are likely as brutal as the one he described from his first-ever practice, which “just got right into doing [High-Intensity Interval Training] workouts that you’ve never done before in your life.” The neuroscience major out of Keenan Hall is planning on going to dental school next year, but he still has a few more months of grueling workout plans ahead of him and he tries to persistently instill the mental strength and discipline he found in Bengal Bouts within himself.
Mistichelli highlighted the camaraderie the club fosters, explaining, “I also met one of my best friends there, so we kept each other accountable day by day, showing up together, training together in the mornings before practice.” He also stressed the role Bengal Bouts has played in growing his Catholic faith by giving back to the world through boxing.
As for fundraising captain senior Dylan Cha, an Illinois native and former Dunne Hall resident, he balances his role in the club with the relentless schedule of an engineer. For Cha, he was encouraged to join after taking a class in his first semester called “Boxing in America,” in which Bengal Bouts head coach Nate Walker was a guest lecturer. “Through learning from the course, as well as Nate, he convinced me to come to a couple practices, and I fell in love with it ever since,” Cha reminisced.
Cha spoke enthusiastically about his role as a captain, saying it has taught him “the importance of consistency in everything that we do, to be a full-fledged member, we require consistency and attendance, and as captains, that extends to our leadership.” He added how this consistency can impact the younger members of the club, saying, “It's not just going to be one day or one thing you say that’s gonna stick with someone, it’s gonna be those messages day in day out that create a lasting impact in whatever aspect of the club.”
Ijeh Nwaezeapu, the technique captain and two-time Bengal Bouts champion, is a psychology major from Keough Hall, originally hailing from Chicago. Nwaezeapu joined the club as a freshman and has excelled ever since, becoming a junior captain last year and continuing as one of this year’s senior captains. “Being a captain means teaching and learning the skill of patience,” Nwaezeapu said, again displaying how these men take pride in developing leadership through the club.
The 96th Bengal Bouts finals will be held on March 28 at 7 p.m. at the Purcell Pavilion.
