Boxing: The Cut Above

Following the win over Town the boxing team took the briefest of moments to relax.  There were a few interesting “dance” moves being exhibited on the evening of the tournament and the following night the  floor of Life saw the sort of limb throwing and mismanagement of alcohol usually reserved for the Blues rowers.  One boxer, looking rather pale on Monday, revealed it was not the alcohol that had done the damage – he had taken advantage of being able to eat whatever he wanted and had just made his way through thirteen flapjacks.

Three days off were followed by a week with thirteen training sessions and a further cut to a squad which is now down to two men per weight category.  Even those who were victorious at the Guild Hall were not guaranteed a place in the final squad.  Moving into the reserves might seem a harsh treatment for those who have worked so hard all season and won their bout – what more can they do?  This, though, is the nature of Varsity sport: only nine can make it to the Corn Exchange.  Those that haven’t made it this year will certainly be back. One of those who missed out, Jack “Hammer” Randall, spoke with great enthusiasm about how excited he was to return next year after discovering a talent for boxing and winning his first fight. “I just love it” was his response as to how he felt about his debut season.

Captain Borna Geuvel said that it had been a hard couple of weeks since Town Vs Gown and even he was feeling tired. Nevertheless, he felt encouraged by how well the team was shaping up “It’s great because I feel like the guys are bringing me up a level by being so competitive, there are some incredibly fit guys in the squad and it just makes everyone work that much harder”. I asked whether he might go easy on them for a couple of days. “Not easy, maybe less hard,”  he smiled. Looking around the gym you can see what he means as there is not an ounce of fat on any of them. No one has been sipping sneaky VKs in Cindies, as has sometimes occurred in the past, for fear they might fall behind the next man.  The final cut is imminent and only nine of them will make it to the 106th Varisty Match.  Watch this space for the next column featuring profiles on those who got the nod and will be stepping in to the ring with Oxford.