The Bengal Bouts is an annual charity
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
tournament hosted by the Men's Boxing Club at the
University of Notre Dame
The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...
airing on
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
, with proceeds benefiting the
Holy Cross Missions in
Bangladesh
Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
. Begun in 1920 by legendary football coach
Knute Rockne to condition football players in the offseason, the tournament later expanded entry to any member of the student body. Under the guidance and direction of Dominic "Nappy" Napolitano, the charity aspect of the event flourished while following the Men's Boxing Club mantra: ''"Strong Bodies Fight, that Weak Bodies May Be Nourished."''
The training regimen requires novice boxers to receive instruction and conditioning in the fall, and returning fighters begin their mandatory workouts during an intensive 6-week period prior to the tournament. In current times, the Men's Boxing Club membership has swelled to include over 230 students, ranging from first-year undergraduate students to graduate and law school students, with participants fighting across 12 weight classes. In 2010, the Bengal Bouts helped generate a donation of $100,000 for the Holy Cross Missions in Bangladesh. This surpassed the $1,000,000 donated throughout the program's existence. Originally held in the Notre Dame Fieldhouse, the tournament is currently held in the
Joyce Center (JACC) and airs on ESPN. In 2005, a sister program, named the Baraka Bouts, was instituted for women and benefits missions in
East Africa.
References
External links
Official website{{University of Notre Dame
Boxing competitions
Notre Dame Fighting Irish