A college student’s life revolves mostly around attending classes, studying and taking tests, all while trying to find a way to blow off steam. In this story we will dive into the world of those that decided that the best way to do that, is by throwing punches.

Boxing reached its peak from the 1960s to the 1970s with the likes of Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier fighting for the rights to be called the greatest of all time. Mike Tyson carried the torch through the '80s and '90s but the sport was steadily declining in popularity. In the last few years there has been a resurgence that has inspired a new generation of athletes and fans alike.

This has led to the creation of boxing clubs in a multitude of universities which in turn led to the formation of United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association (USIBA).

USIBA was formed in 2012 as the result of the combined efforts of college boxing club coaches that were looking to better organize the sport.

The USIBA Nationals are held yearly since 2015 and offer amateur collegiate boxers a structured, safe, competitive and exciting tournament to show the world what they are made of as well as the chance to claim the title of US collegiate champion.

In 2015, the tournament was held in Ann Arbor, Michigan and set a record for the largest collegiate boxing tournament in the past 50 years. 150 boxers from 28 schools contested 31 divisional championships. And that was just the beginning ! The 2016 USIBA Nationals, took place in Santa Monica, California, hosted by CSU, Northridge and in 2017, the honor went to Virginia Military Institute.

This year, the Nationals will be hosted by the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. The Illini Boxing Club (IBC) was formed in 2013 by two passionate students and amateur boxers and started with less than 15 active members on its inaugural year. Today IBC numbers over 150, from beginner boxers to assistant coaches with more than 30 of them getting ready to fight for the belts in front of what is expected to be a fiery home crowd.

Visit their website for more info at http://illiniboxing.com/ and follow them on instagram @illiniboxing

Mike Tyson once said "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face." Well, our plan is to be at the University of Illinois between March 16-18, 2018 to cover all the action. Hopefully we will not get punched at all. We'll leave this to the athletes!

For more info, you can visit the USIBA website: http://www.collegeboxing.org/

Coverage by Anna Antonopoulos & Image Courtesy of Google Images

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Let's Get Ready to Rumble with Boxing Nationals!!!