It is a common sight to see the club soccer or frisbee teams practicing on Harbin Field, or to see club basketball on the courts in Yates, but the equally dedicated club boxing team, tucked away in Bulldog Alley, might be the best kept secret on the Hilltop. The squad practices a sport that’s gone underground in recent years, but its members are hoping to step into the spotlight soon.
The team, which practices three times a week, sports both novices and national champions. Recently, the squad participated in an event with a number of Georgetown MBA students at K Street’s Sphinx Club, hosting fights to raise money for charity.
“It was a charity event…but they were asking for undergraduate students to fight against some of their graduate students. I ended up being the only one, though … but they got other graduate students together, and they fought each other,” said Georgetown fighter Janie Rosales (COL ‘17).
Though many undergraduates and MBAs withdrew from the scheduled fights prior to the event, Rosales stepped into the ring to fight Laura Macrorie (MBA ‘16).
“I think it helped me to fight a different kind of fighter, because up until now, I’ve been fighting girls who would come at me in the same way that I would go after them, and that wasn’t her style,” said Rosales. “She did more slipping, more ducking. She chose her shots. She was a smart fighter. So, I think now I have more experience with that kind of fighter. It just builds up what I already know.”
Rosales, who is 1-3 as a fighter, lost the three-round fight by split-decision, but went toe-to-toe with her opponent, who was more than 10 years her senior.
“Janie made the school proud; we were very proud of her… I am very disappointed with the decision,” said Adan Gonzalez (COL ‘15), the boxing team’s captain. “By the end of the fight, you had people chanting for her, and I think that made all of us proud.”
Though the team often fights off campus, the team will be bringing their talents back to 37th and O when they host their showcase event on Oct. 18. They usually hold their home fights in Yates, but they are working to have this year’s event in plain view out on Healy Lawn.
“We’re very excited that we’re hosting our showcase on Healy Lawn. We just want to give everyone the opportunity for an outside event,” said Gonzalez. “Boxing itself, is very exciting, and now, doing it in front of our historic building, where everybody is passing by, [students] will get to see that we do have a boxing program, and we are actually very good.”
The club also plans to incorporate many other groups on campus, allowing cultural clubs to provide food and entertainment with the community as a supplement to the events in the ring.
“This year, we have a lot of ethnic clubs that are going to be able to share their food and contribute to the event,” said Gonzalez. “They’ll be able to bring a little of their own part of their culture to not just showcase the boxing part of the event, but also to expose themselves to campus.”
Though the sweet science may not be in the center of the nation’s sporting conscience, but it will hopefully be on display for all of the Georgetown population to see in just under three weeks from now.
