Though a cold front swept into the city Friday, Oct. 16, it was no match for the un-air-conditioned Freret Street Boxing Gym, which was still sweltering despite the cool breeze.

A steady flow of people headed into the gym, not for a spectacular main event fight, but to see the president of Loyola University, the Rev. Kevin Wildes, S.J., fight debut boxer Alex Diamond, a Tulane University business senior.

An hour before the fight the “punishing priest” warmed up by listening to his MP3 player and zoning out to focus on his opponent.

“I’m tired. It’s been a long week of board meetings,” Wildes said.

Wildes started boxing when he was 18-years-old as a freshman in college. The 55-year-old trains at the gym three days a week and runs five days a week.

“The fights motivate me to run,” he said.

The fight drew Loyola students, alumni and faculty as well as local fans, including James Carville, professor of practice in Tulane’s political science department and national political analyst.

“I come every chance I get. Boxing is one of the great sporting events in the world,” he said.

Carville also said he hoped to see a good technical fight and good defense from Wildes.
Cade Cypriano A’09 also came out to see the fight.

Though Cypriano thought Wildes would be out-maneuvered, he did give credence to his passionate fighting style.

“The key to him being a good fighter is that he has no remorse when it comes to inflicting pain,” he said.

And there was a lot of pain in the fight that night.

It was a fight of stereotypical proportions. In addition to the Loyola-Tulane rivalry, Wildes, from New Jersey, faced Diamond, a New Yorker.

“I think [Diamond] will put on a good show. He’s from New York. He’s got too much class to take a fall,” said Topher Patch, Tulane A’08.

The fight concluded after three rounds. Though Wildes won the first round, his endurance faltered in the second and third against the younger Diamond which determined the outcome of the match.

“It was dead-even after the second round. [Diamond] just out-hustled Father Wildes,” said referee Ronald Weaver, who was an Olympic alternate in 1992, and a middleweight and welterweight champion.

“I feel fine,” said Wildes. “I got mad at myself in the second round.”

Diamond, who lost a contact lens in the middle of the second round, expressed relief after winning the fight.

“He’s tough. I got a lot of respect for him. I hope I can do that when I’m 50-years-old,” he said.

Lauren Navarro can be reached at [email protected]