Since 1976 only 12 boxers have won three straight Fight Night bouts. This year juniors Andrew Guerra and Adrian Hernandez joined the exclusive club. The two fighters were the first to accomplish the feat since 2008. Guerra, in particular, credits his success to his hard-work. “Even though boxing isn’t my main sport I work to stay in shape year round in the other sports I play.”

Mount Carmel’s 39th annual Fight Night on April 25 did not disappoint in upholding the Caravan tradition, according to sophomore Dominic Antonietti.”Every year Fight Night is a great tradition that brings the whole school together. “This year was no different.”

Fight Night began with bag pipes and a procession of alumni firefighters and emergency responders into the Alumni Gym. They were being honored for their “tireless service to the community.” Each alum was presented with a Mount Carmel commemorative coin and VIP seats to the fights.

Shortly after the flags were set down in the middle of the ring, Ahkeem Lewis belted out his popular rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, sending the standing-room only crowd into a frenzy. Fr. Tony Mazurkiewicz followed with a prayer and Fight Night was off and running.

The first fight at 175lb started with announcer Clem DeLuca calling senior Jack Grant and sophomore Kevin Czubak to the ring. Grant, fighting out of the brown corner, was looking for his first win in three years of competition. In the third round Grant  achieved his goal by a technical knockout. Afterwards, he was jubilant.  “There is no feeling like this; I was just looking to throw my jabs and be quick and it paid off.”

Next, the lightest fighters of the night at 120lb paired off.  The bout between freshmen James Sears and Jacob Correa consisted of quick rather than powerful punches and ended in a decision for Correa. Correa later picked up the Most Improved Boxer award at the end of the night.

The next fight was a mix of both power and speed when juniors John Drozd and Adrian Hernandez went the distance at 135lb. At the end Adrian Hernandez had his hand raised as the winner. This fight was a special one as Hernandez competed in his third straight Fight Night, and picked up his third win in his boxing career.

With three fights down, freshman Dan Goosherst took on Alex Correa at 160LB. Alex Correa won.

The fifth fight of the night produced much excitement as junior Leo Ortiz and sophomore Rafael Meija stepped into the ring at 195lb. The fight, which ended in the first round with a technical knockout, was Ortiz’s second win in his Fight Night career at Mount Carmel.

This fight however, felt like redemption for Ortiz, who was disappointed after losing his fight last year. “Last year I didn’t train much, so this year I decided I was going to put a lot of time in training to come out with a victory.” Ortiz credited his win to his ability to stay calm and composed in the ring.

Two Freshmen, Colin Kainrath and Blake Million, took the ring for the 145lb bout. The fight, which also created much excitement, ended in a decision for Kainrath. Kainrath, who has been coming to Fight Night for years, finally had the chance to step inside the ring. After his win, Kainrath wants to compete in Fight Night all four years and continue his strategy. “I wanted to beat him by just being quicker than him. I wanted to tire him out and get around the ring.”

After being bombarded with fights in the first half of the night, the crowd was granted an intermission. During the intermission, the “Fitz Award” was presented  to Dan Kocsis for his support of Fight Night. Kocsis helped train the boxers and assisted in the planning of Fight Night.

Fresh off the intermission was a fight in the 170lb division. Freshman Bryce Pezel took down junior Jacob Marzo in an upset. The fight was called by a technical knockout.

Juniors Brian Zia and Gavin Quintero had the next fight at 180lb. After three rounds filled with big punches and knock downs, the judges gave a tough decision to Quintero, who obtained his second Fight Night win in as many years.  Afterwards, Quintero talked a little about what made him successful. “Mainly I just wanted to move around the ring better and tire him out. This win feels great and I will look to fight again next year.”

The next fight brought a change in coaching. Two fighters replaced the coaches given to them by Mount Carmel with their fathers. To most fighters, Fight Night is something they only train a month or so for, but for Javier Hernandez and John Lewus this was just another fight. The fight consisted of controlled punches compared to other fights. The fight went all three rounds ending in a decision and a Lewus win. Lewus went on to win the Most Outstanding Boxer award.

Following the Hernandez-Lewus fight at 125lb, the Father’s Club brought out a large drum of hundreds of tickets to pick the Grand Raffle Drawing. Each ticket, which cost $100 dollars, offered a chance at winning the Grand Prize of $12,500. Father Tony came out and picked the winner.

After 10 fights, an intermission, and a raffle, the main event was upon the crowd. The fight, between junior linebackers Andrew Guerra and Patrick O’Shea, brought excitement and energy. The fight ended in the third round with a TKO making Guerra a three-time fight night winner. Guerra also won an award at the very end of the night when he was presented with the Most Valuable Boxer award.

While this was only O’Shea’s first year of Fight Night, he battled in the ring and was very proud of how he performed.  “Even though I lost, it felt amazing being in that ring. Everyone always asks if I heard them yelling, but in that ring we are the only ones in the gym.”

It is important to remember that Fight Night would not be possible if it were not for the work of the Father’s Club. This event has been a success since 1976, and even though both the Bulls and Blackhawks played playoff games that night, attendance was strong.