Local College Boxing Returns With Inaugural Causeway Card

By Thomas Cathey | Special to The OBSERVERSacramento State’s Combat U put on the inaugural Causeway Boxing Classic at Memorial Auditorium Nov. 22, with student boxers from Sacramento State taking on their UC Davis counterparts.Earlier this year, former UFC fighter Urijah Faber’s Ultimate Fitness collaborated with Sac State and President Dr. Luke Wood to bring combat sports to the university. Sac State formed a boxing team led by former super middleweight/light heavyweight Brandon Gonzales.It had been more than 50 years since Sac State fielded a boxing team, which back in the day slugged it out at Memorial Auditorium, home to many professional championship bouts. Spectators and students from both schools battled a downpour Friday to watch a 14-bout card, topped by two matchups pitting Sac State against UCD.Heavyweight Corey Blackmon of Sacramento State throws a left jab at Alejandro Silva of UC Davis during a Causeway Boxing Classic bout Nov. 22. (Courtesy Photo)The Hornets and Aggies split those matches, but Sac State earned more victories as a team, with five and was awarded the Causeway Classic trophy this year.In the night’s third fight, Sac State heavyweight Austin Melendez won a three-round slugfest over Air Force Academy’s Justin Bonilla. Melendez had...