Wharton Journal

Issue date: 4/2/07 Section: News

Last Saturday night [March 23rd] over 1,200 people filled The Legendary Blue Horizon to capacity to participate in this year's Third Annual Philly Fight Night, a Wharton tradition that sees courageous first and second year Wharton MBA students test their boxing skills against other Penn students in one of the most historical boxing venues in the entire country. With five very intriguing match-ups on the docket, including three Wharton vs. Penn Law bouts, fans were hopeful to get their money's worth from this year's Fight Night. Little did they know they would get that and much, much more.

The night began with the "Rocky" theme song, "Gonna Fly Now", blaring through the corridors of The Legendary Blue Horizon as the audience rose to their feet with tremendous anticipation for the first bout. Following a rousing rendition of the National Anthem by Angeli Murphy of Morgan Lewis and the ceremonial "Let's Get Ready Rumble" call by announcer Justin "The Grumper" O'Malley, the action was underway.

The first bout pitted Wharton first year student Jonathan "Iraqi Balboa" Taqqu versus Penn Law student Frank "Little Mac" Martinez. Martinez is best remembered for having lost last year in a now legendary fight to Wharton Boxing Club Captain Alex "The Manimal" Grove. Injuries kept "The Manimal" out of the ring this year, so Martinez would have to test his luck against a very focused Taqqu whose rigorous training regimen had him well-prepared for the three round brawl that would ensue. Taqqu arguably had the gutsiest performance of the evening as he fought off considerable injuries to his face to go the distance versus an unrelenting Martinez. Despite Taqqu connecting often with his left jab, the judges ultimately ruled in favor of Martinez, much to the chagrin of the pro-Wharton crowd.

Before the second bout of the evening, the audience was treated to a very entertaining performance by the Frankford Boys and Girls Club Drill team, led by Ninette Cooper. With approximately 85% of all Fight Night proceeds going to the Boys and Girls of Philadelphia, Fight Night organizers wanted to proactively involve the local school boys and girls for whom this night has special meaning. This was certainly one of the highlights of the evening as the drill team showed off their unique talents through a combined musical and step performance. Having successfully raised the level of enthusiasm from an already pumped-up capacity crowd, it was now time to get back to the boxing action.

With Penn Law having won the first bout, Wharton was hungry for victory when second year Wharton student Myk "The Bodysnatcher" Likhov took the ring to battle Jonathan "Junkyard Dog" Petts. The first round saw quite a bit of action with Likhov coming out swinging against the elusive Petts. While Likhov fought a very tough first round, Petts would ultimately use his quickness and footwork to score a second round TKO of Likhov. While Likhov scored some jarring blows against his opponent, he was ultimately overcome by Petts' superior training.

Assuming the third bout was not a draw, Wharton was almost assured a winner with second year Wharton student JT "Mormon Fury" Clark taking on fellow Wharton second year Jeremy "The Chosen One" Greenberg. The two had nearly come to blows during their weigh-in at Pub on the preceding Thursday, so this was a much-anticipated fight as the audience was eager to watch the bad blood spill over into the ring. From the outset, Clark was all business, from his entourage of massive rugby players (including Lachlan "William Wallace" McLean) to his intimidating "Mormon Fury" tattoo. Unfortunately for Greenberg, his highlight could have been his entourage, which included his twin brother coming out disguised as Jeremy before "The Real Greenberg" entered the ring moments later. Once the match started, Clark connected with a devastating left jab that Greenberg never seemed to overcome. After battering Greenberg for almost two rounds, the fight was stopped with Clark being declared the victor. While Clark was the dominant boxer, Greenberg was undoubtedly the crowd favorite and the audience applauded loudly for his brave efforts to enter the ring at Philly Fight Night.

Following the Clark vs. Greenberg bout, the ladies of the Wharton Dance Studio, led by Erin Gelzer, took the ring to perform their annual Philly Fight Night dance. Initially donning sweatshirts complete with hoods, Dance Studio members really got into the Fight Night motif with this boxer-like look before taking their sweatshirts off and revealing their colorful outfits much to the pleasure of the crowd. The lovely ladies then danced the night away with an energetic performance that even managed to top their memorable performance from last year.

The next fight was a proverbial battle of "Youth versus Experience" as Penn undergrad Alex "Psycho" Solomon took on former Naval Academy boxer and current Wharton first year A.J. "Sweet Cheeks" Washington. Washington's boxing prowess had been at the center of most pre-Fight Night hype, and his entourage's entry into the Blue Horizon was met with perhaps the loudest roar of the night complete with a standing ovation from nearly all in attendance. Yet almost immediately after the chiseled Washington entered the ring to the chant "A.J., A.J", he was met with a devastating left hook from Solomon that would send him reeling to the canvas much to the shock of the crowd. Would the undergrad Solomon play the role of Buster Douglas and knock out the heavily favored Washington? Not so fast. After a decisive Round One victory by Solomon, Washington would go on to demonstrate the true heart of a champion by never giving up and fighting with more tenacity and resilience as the fight went on. By the third round, Washington was unloading hook after hook to Solomon's face, making his opponent look nearly defenseless against his flurry of powerful punches. Characterizing the Round Three action as intense would be an understatement, and with the ring of the bell at the end of the round the question loomed, "Did A.J. have enough in the final two rounds to overcome the first round knockdown?" After a very controversial scoring change by Judge Cecil Martin that broke a draw, Washington was deservedly declared the victor. Washington's performance was no less than heroic, and plans are already in the works for Washington vs. Solomon II at Philly Fight Night 2008. Washington had the following to say about his first Philly Fight Night: "I was seriously overwhelmed by the energy of the crowd…they were amazing. People keep asking me if I heard them screaming 'AJ, AJ, AJ!' Without a doubt! I can't even describe to you how much that pumped me up." He continued by acknowledging all of the boxing participants in Philly Fight Night: "Boxing is a tough sport. It takes a ton of courage to step into the ring, especially in front of a crowd. Regardless of whether they won or lost the fight, I take my hat off to everyone who participated this year and really put it on the line. It was an incredible night and I had a blast. Looking forward to doing it again next year."

With the undercard now complete, it was time for "The Main Event" featuring Wharton second year Craig "Big Money" Trent against Penn Law's scrappiest boxer, Tyler "T-Bone" Shewey. In addition to being a popular figure in the second year class at Wharton, "Big Money", standing at 6'4 and 215 lbs., is also widely regarded as one of the biggest, baddest dudes that has ever walked the halls of Huntsman, bringing a Naval Academy "I'll kick your butt" attitude to everything he does. Yet there were some questions about his boxing abilities as he entered the ring because he only had a couple of months of boxing experience leading up to Philly Fight Night, including zero bouts. Yet anyone who knows "Big Money" knew that he would bring the necessary fire and focus into the ring, and that's exactly what he did against an outmatched Shewey. "Big Money" set the tone early by using his reach advantage to deliver strong left jabs to Shewey's face. By establishing the jab early on, "Big Money" effectively set up his signature "West Virginia Haymaker" which literally knocked Shewey up against the ropes on several occasions. During Round Three, just as "Big Money" was warming up, the fight was stopped by Referee Clif Johnson, with "Big Money" declared the winner. Was there ever a doubt that a man with the nickname "Big Money" wouldn't deliver a victory for Wharton, the second year class, West Virginia, Annapolis, and the U.S. of A.? "Big Money" had the following to say after his decisive victory against Shewey: "I will never forget Philly Fight Night. Besides my hot entourage, my favorite part was hearing the inebriated Wharton crowd shouting for me!"

Overall, Philly Fight Night 2007 was an overwhelming success, and it could not have been possible without the efforts of everyone in attendance. More than $26,500 was raised through ticket sales and generous support from sponsors to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia and The Anuj Mohan Scholarship Fund. Many thanks go out to all the sponsors, and also the volunteers that made the event such a success: Ian Pancham (WG '07) who delivered unbelievable music to the crowd the entire evening; Justin "The Grumper" O'Malley (WG '07) for doing an exceptional job as host; the beautiful ring girls, including Debby Wang (WG '07), Cindy Tseng (WG '07), Elise Bernal (WG '06), and of course, Sandra Fontaine Moya (WG '07) (what would a Wharton event be without Sandra?); the Judges for the evening: Professor Justin Wolfers, Professor William Tyson, and Cecil Martin; the Philly Fight Night Security team including Luis Perez (WG '07) and many of the other Wharton Wharthogs; the Philly Fight Night Greeters, including Naina Kalavar (WG '07), Erica Breckner (WG '07), Amy Wilk (WG '07), Michele "Chewie" Cheowtirakul (WG '07), Tracy Viola, and Schuyler Williams; and Referee Clif Johnson who maintained order in the ring throughout each of the fights.

Those interested in making Philly Fight Night IV even bigger next year are encouraged to contact Wes Kaupinen (kaupinen@wharton.upenn.edu), Matt Kaye (kaye@wharton.upenn.edu), and Mike "The Big Steak" Viola (mviola@wharton.upenn.edu).

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