Across the country, student fight nights are becoming ever more popular. Not affiliated with official university boxing clubs, these allow a chance for students who may have limited experience of the sport to get involved.
Sunday the 9th of March saw one of these events take place in Edinburgh, specifically at Portobello Town Hall. In total, 19 fights took place, for both men and women, across a number of weight categories.
Fighters naturally train intensively beforehand, meaning even fighters with extremely limited ability have the capacity to take part.
The fight of the night was won by Frank Rahmatallah against Jake Raymond, and The Student spoke with Rahmatallah about his motivations, the process of training, as well as the experience of the fight itself.
Firstly, Rahmatallah discussed the reasons that convinced him to sign up. He explained how, “I’d never done any boxing before, or any form of martial art,” which emphasises how open the process is to any level of ability. Next, the fact that he had “always wanted to, but the opportunity never presented itself,” made Edinburgh’s Fight Night an enticing prospect.
The training was a very tough process, but the laid-back atmosphere meant there was “nothing to lose,” and all of this came with the added bonus that Frank has “never been fitter in (his) life, despite playing a lot of sport.” Even for less experienced sportspeople, this makes fight nights a very accessible possibility to get in shape.
Frank commented that the fight itself was “a bit of a blur,” whilst, paradoxically, “the longest six minutes ever”. The intensity of the third round forced him to “dig deep and pull yourself up,” but the whole experience was a unique and exciting one: “the adrenaline is unlike anything I’ve ever felt before.”
Even if one is put off by the certainly daunting prospect of stepping into a ring to fight an opponent every bit as determined as you are, the opportunity to train and improve fitness makes fight nights a novel, if unusual, way for people to get into sport. The fact that it is open to all abilities and experience levels underlines that the whole process is less pressurised than one might expect.
Added to this, the night itself allows a great opportunity for a very fun evening, both for fighters and spectators. It is easy to see why fight nights have proved so popular, and anything that serves to broaden the appeal of boxing as a sport is valuable.
Photo Credits: “Boxing Ring and Speed Bag” by aberrocreative is licensed under CC BY 2.0.