In two weeks, 18 amateur Aggie boxers will compete at Reed Arena for charity.
Farmers Fight Night (FFN) will hold its first high-profile charity boxing match at Texas A&M on April 4 at 6 p.m. Tickets are currently on sale through the 12th Man Foundation website. General admission is $25, but reserved seats can be purchased for $35 to $50 each. Live streaming of the pay-per-view will be available on the FFN website.
Reed Arena will be renovated for the event and will feature a raised boxing ring on the floor. Attendees can expect nine three-round matches featuring intermission performances by the Aggie dance team, the Aggie Wranglers, and karate demonstrations by the Kickstart Kids.
In addition, businesses donated free items, such as a year's worth of community coffee, through a random seat raffle at the event.
All profits will benefit United Way of the Brazos Valley, a Bryan-based nonprofit that supports affordable housing, access to health care, reliable transportation and education for residents.
Although there is a possibility of changes by the day of the game, the match details are as follows.
Welterweight: 147 pounds
Tom Sempett vs Charles Villegas
Light middleweight: 156 pounds
Francis Crystal vs Frank Chiu
Angelo Castro vs Christian Chavira
Light heavyweight: 176 pounds
Jake Young vs Glenn Peacock
Will Loftin vs Eric Wilhite
AJ Baird vs Emi Sanchez
Kim Peteros vs Jake Zawaideh
Cruiser weight: 189 lbs.
Stadler Kirsten vs Edward Clarke
Heavyweight: 203 pounds
Kobe Mora vs Chandler Banks
Sarin Poulsen, senior biological and agricultural engineer, is FFN's vice president of marketing. Although their mission is primarily philanthropic, the warriors just want to put on a good show.
Poulsen said the student-run event has been in the works since 2023 and was held in October when the boxers had little fighting experience. The fighters train four days a week, honing their skills through practice and sparring.
“[Our VP of training] As well as skill, the level of experience in the ring and the ability to have a good boxing IQ is night and day different than it was six months ago when he first started, Poulsen said, adding that attendees He added that we can expect a solid and technical battle.
Paulsen said that compared to other sports, training for boxing is similar to preparing for a marathon. Poulsen said that besides learning technical moves, the players do a lot of aerobic exercise while monitoring their nutritional status. This semester, the fighters honed their knowledge with local boxing coach Carl Perry from BCS Boxing Club.
Paulsen said FFN is a new iteration of impromptu boxing events held in the Cadet Quad in the past.
“Some of the guys in the corps came up with the idea that they were going to set up a boxing ring in the middle of the quad and have people walk up and sign waivers and go in and fight,” Paulsen said. Told. “Obviously the university was like, 'No, we can't do that.'”
However, the idea remained and was transformed into a formal event. Ironically, Poulsen said securing the venue was one of the easiest parts of the plan.
Paulsen said the most difficult part was gathering donations to fund the event. He said FFN is still $50,000 to $10,000 short of its $30,000 goal, but local businesses are pitching in to help.
Prior to the event, FFN will host an Honor Night, an invitation-only gala event and silent auction for members, family, friends and donors. Paulsen said Harley-Davidson, Aggieland Outfitters, Community Coffee and others donated baskets to help with the fundraiser.
Paulsen said FFN hopes to soon expand its events to include more matches and transform into an official A&M Boxing Club. There used to be a competitive boxing club, but it remains inactive after COVID-19 restrictions. Although the majority of current members belong to corps, FFN hopes to recruit other influential groups, such as fraternities.
“Not only will we continue to have a big fight night every spring, but we will also have competitive boxers competing to represent A&M,” Paulsen said.
