BY AUDREY PERRY
Each week BYU and UVSC students get together to enjoy a healthy beating in a place called the Fight Club.
The location of the club, which changes each week, is anonymous. The fighters are all inexperienced.
And the club is not BYUSA-endorsed.
It is just boys punching for the sheer adrenaline rush and for the noisy crowds cheering them on.
“I think that whether you win or lose, it’s just you feel that adrenaline — like at the top of the roller coaster for three or four minutes. It’s a wonderful feeling,” said the Fight Club founder.
BYU students started this club, and mainly BYU and UVSC students participate in the fights. The club meets every Monday night to facilitate boxing matches between friends.
“I get headaches, my eye hurts, but it’s fun … just friends getting together to let off some steam. It’s a rush,” said UVSC student James Anderson after winning his third Fight Club Championship.
No money is exchanged at the Fight Club, and there is no entrance fee. No betting on the matches is allowed.
Members of the Fight Club said the activity fills a void in Provo life.
“There isn’t a whole lot to do in this town. … It’s a fun time — watching people stand out there and hit each other. Everybody likes that,” said one of the Fight Club founders.
The activity is completely legal, according to the Provo police.
However, last Monday, officers citing traffic and noise ordinance violations broke up the fighting.
It is not surprising that the police heard about Fight Club. Over 100 people showed up for the fights last week.
Cars were parked across the street, and the cheering was anything but calm. People were standing on top of roofs and cars to see the fights.
Neighbors called the police station to report that one hundred people were fighting in the backyard of a house.
Those who attended said they were disappointed that police broke up the fighting before a single match was completed, and scheduled fighters said they were bitter because they could not fight.
The first police break-up of Fight Club did not deter its founders however.
“We’ll just have to move it out in the middle of nowhere,” the founder said.
Founders of the Fight Club said the idea to start the club stemmed from roommate fights a few months ago.
“It was just a bunch of us who live here in the house having fun with the boxing gloves and more and more friends came over, and pretty soon word got out, and we had to move to a bigger location,” the club founder said.
Further inspiration came from the movie “Fight Club,” a film starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt.
Fights at the club are monitored. Three judges determine the winner of each round. A referee makes sure the rules are kept.
“We probably don’t know the real boxing rules that well … but we get as close as we can,” the founder said.
Each fight consists of three 45 second rounds.
The Fight Club keeps tight reigns on who can attend. The location is not announced until 7 o’clock Monday nights.
To find out the location of Fight Club, one must know someone in the club — or check their Web site. Anyone is welcome to fight — as long as they do not have any fighting experience.
“There are no experienced fighters. We’re all a bunch of amateurs — so we keep it clean,” Anderson said.
There have not been any serious injuries at Fight Club — just the bloody noses, black eyes and sprains.
“I don’t think anyone leaves disappointed — either the fighters or spectators. We aim to please at the Provo Fight Club,” the founder said.
