Chico, cont.

[hoosier]

(I'm starting to think the only solution to the poluted fraternity system at Chico is to pull every charter, expel every member, and burn the houses down. While a trial goes on in last year's death, Phi Kappa Tau hosts a live fight night as a fund raiser. There's a picture of a knocked out loser on the front page. This is in addition to the chapter that withdrew from the IFC for "Christian principles, but hosts a stripper for rush the next week. There's a 1000 campuses with GLOs - we won't miss Chico.)


The Orion : NOLAN MACLEAN
Steve Wolfe, left, looks at his knocked out opponent, Saulo Ramallo, during the final bout of Chico Fight Night II presented by Phi Kappa Tau on Saturday night. Wolfe sent Ramallo to the canvas in the final seconds of the final round of their matchup.
Frat fight fills Boxing for Fitness, raises money for Boys and Girls Club
Kirk Barron
Assistant Sports Editor
November 02, 2005

Click here for a photo slideshow from Chico Fight Night II

Chico Fight Night II started with a poem and ended with a punch as a standing room only crowd witnessed a night of brutality in the name of charity.

Fight Night II featured 21 bouts, several knockdowns and plenty of blood. More than 400 people showed up for the event and $1,500 was raised through ticket and concession sales. A donor gave another $1,500 to bring the total to $3,000 that will be given to the Boys & Girls Club of Chico.

Chico Boxing for Fitness owner Jose Rodriguez opened the fighting by reading a poem about the 100 people who signed up to fight but didn't have the guts to follow through.

The first fight of the night was between two 11-year-olds, Jesus Rangel of Chico and Sergio Samaniega of Corning. Rangel had the size advantage on Samaniega and controlled the fight to win a unanimous decision.

The main event featured Chico State students Saulo Ramallo and Steve Wolfe, two fighters with kickboxing experience. The stronger Wolfe controlled the resilient Ramallo for the first two rounds, and in the final round Wolfe landed a right hook that dropped Ramallo to the mat.

As trainers attended to the prone fighter, the crowd began chanting Wolfe's name. In a show of class, Wolfe went over to make sure Ramallo was all right. In the first Fight Night, Wolfe won by knockout as well.

While the main event may have featured the most decisive knockout, the 20 other fights excited the crowd as friends and fraternity members battled.

Chico State student Eric Freemon fought Butte College student Edgar Guillen as his mother looked on, but Freemon couldn't mount much of an offense against the aggressive Guillen.

Freemon's mother, Nancy Campbell, always comes to watch her son fight and is always nervous about Freemon getting hurt, but that doesn't stop her from enjoying it.

"It was great. It was his fourth competitive fight," Campbell said after the fight. "But kickboxing is really his strength."
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The Orion : NOLAN MACLEAN
Chico student Brandon Reinhardt awaits Butte College's Art Peitz at the second annual Chico Fight Night presented by Phi Kappa Tau on Saturday.

And Freemon appreciates his family coming out to support him.

"It is good to have their support more than anything," Freemon said.

Most of the fighters did not have their mothers there, but many had their fraternity brothers.

The second fight featured T.J. Kearney, a Butte College student and member of Phi Delta Theta, and Porthos Palomino, also a Butte College student. In the first round, Kearney landed a solid blow that bloodied Palomino's nose, but Palomino responded by squeaking out a 2--1 decision.

The fourth fight of the night was between two Chico State students as 18-year-old Mike Whitmore took on 21-year-old James Lowther. The fighters battled evenly through the opening round, but Whitmore landed a body shot that sucked the air out of Lowther's lungs and sent him to a knee. Referee Ava Knight called the fight and Whitmore won by knockout.

In one of the more exciting matches of the night, Butte College student Justin May faced Chico State student and Theta Chi member Charles Butler. The crowd was clearly on Butler's side as it chanted for him the whole match. But May came out on top in a unanimous decision as both fighters looked wobbly by the end of the match.

The following fight between Bennie Warfield and Buddy Shelton was one of the most brutal fights of the night. Both fighters landed dozens of hard blows to each other's heads, but Shelton won by unanimous decision

Fight 11 featured Chico State students Daniel Penner and Mike Lee, a member of Theta Chi. Penner was the more polished fighter and peppered Lee with quick punches on his way to a unanimous decision.

Beta Theta Pi member Clayton Benway faced James Gibson and knocked him down three times before Gibson's corner threw in the towel. Gibson was the aggressor early in the match, but when Benway pressed him, Gibson would duck and Benway pounded away at the top of Gibson's head.

The next fight was again a mismatch as James Bryan demolished Jason Myers. The whole first round Bryan pressed Myers, who did all he could to defend himself but didn't have a chance to fight back. At the start of the second round, Bryan came out and knocked Myers down and his corner threw in the towel.

The second to last match featured Jose Nunez of Theta Chi and Nick Bedwell of Beta Theta Pi. Both fighters had large cheering sections and the crowd was on its feet for the whole fight.

Bedwell controlled the first two rounds, but Nunez responded by landing some devastating blows. In the third round, it looked like Bedwell was tiring and Nunez went on the attack. But Bedwell won 2--1 and many in the crowd booed the decision. The fight was one of the more energetic of the night.

Phi Kappa Tau Philanthropy Chairman Kyle Clark said the event was a success and the fraternity is thinking about doing another Fight Night next semester.