any word on Zibby fight?
- Thread starter leppycole
- Start date
Despite glitches, local fans get glimpse of Zibby punch
By ERIC HANSEN
Tribune Staff Writer
SOUTH BEND — Sue Zbikowski expected headaches, but not chaos.
Hours before her son Tom's charity exhibition boxing match Tuesday night at the Century Center was to take place, the Notre Dame football player/boxer's opponent, Ken Murphy of Chicago, was suspended and scratched from competition.
Yes, even charity competition.
There was also a snag with the ambulance and paramedics showing up. The ring itself didn't arrive at the Century Center until 4 p.m. The doors opened for the event 2½ hours later.
The show went on, warts and all.
With Irish head football coach Charlie Weis, Irish teammates and assistant coaches and even ND recruit Braxston Cave of Penn High looking on, Tom Zbikowski bloodied and dominated makeshift opponent Ryan St. Germain of Elkhart in a three-round exhibition that left the near-capacity crowd buzzing.
"The juices started flowing and you want to go for a knockout," Tom Zbikowski said, "but this is an exhibition. It's for charity."
A hastily assembled undercard that included boxers from Chicago, LaPorte, Michigan City and South Bend's own Eva Jones-Young got the crowd warmed up for the main event. Perhaps the most impressive of the bunch was 20-year-old LaPorte product Justin Sule of the Maple City club. Sule staggered his opponent with a vicious cut and the fight was stopped in 42 seconds.
As for Zbikowski, he didn't know he had a new opponent until around 5 p.m. Germain, a 26-year-old whose first two pro fights were last Tuesday and Friday, didn't get the call until 4 p.m.
"Luckily, we saw him on 'Showtime'," Zbikowski's father, Ed, said.
St. Germain was just happy for the opportunity.
"He's a lot faster than the other guys I went against," St. Germain said of Zbikowski.
The Zbikowskis wanted to maximize the money going to charity, so they did all the work themselves rather than hiring people. The resulting rough edges caused many anxious moments, but in the end, it was still worth it to the family. It was a chance to give back years after the Zbikowski family was on the receiving end of such a gesture.
Sue's oldest son, E.J., was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was 5. He had an operation a year later, but the cancer came back. He went for a second operation at the Mayo Clinic when he was 9. This time the cancer didn't come back.
But the financial scars remained.
"We had a small outstanding bill," Sue Zbikowski said, "and you pay it monthly and you pay it monthly and you pay it monthly and pay it monthly, and you got it down to a certain dollar amount. And one day I got a letter from the Mayo Clinic and it said, 'Because of such and such benefactor, the balance of your medical bill is paid.'
"Now how awesome was that? It was small, but I cried. I cried because every dollar counts when you're in that type of situation. So how nice would that be if we could do that for someone? It means a lot. I mean if it's only 1,000 bucks, that's 1,000 bucks you don't have to pay."
Tuesday night's proceeds were split among three charities — Hannah & Friends, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Ed Zbikowski estimates the proceeds will be $40,000 after expenses.
"It was trial and error, with more error than anything else," Sue said. "It's pretty crazy. Hopefully, we didn't aggravate anybody We were flying by the seat of our pants, and there were a lot of screw-ups. We tried to make it work.
"That's what makes it worth it, and it's for Tommy. That's what he really wants to do. He's so busy. Does he understand everything that goes on behind the scenes? No. But he's the presence that can make the difference. That's what he wants to do."
By ERIC HANSEN
Tribune Staff Writer
SOUTH BEND — Sue Zbikowski expected headaches, but not chaos.
Hours before her son Tom's charity exhibition boxing match Tuesday night at the Century Center was to take place, the Notre Dame football player/boxer's opponent, Ken Murphy of Chicago, was suspended and scratched from competition.
Yes, even charity competition.
There was also a snag with the ambulance and paramedics showing up. The ring itself didn't arrive at the Century Center until 4 p.m. The doors opened for the event 2½ hours later.
The show went on, warts and all.
With Irish head football coach Charlie Weis, Irish teammates and assistant coaches and even ND recruit Braxston Cave of Penn High looking on, Tom Zbikowski bloodied and dominated makeshift opponent Ryan St. Germain of Elkhart in a three-round exhibition that left the near-capacity crowd buzzing.
"The juices started flowing and you want to go for a knockout," Tom Zbikowski said, "but this is an exhibition. It's for charity."
A hastily assembled undercard that included boxers from Chicago, LaPorte, Michigan City and South Bend's own Eva Jones-Young got the crowd warmed up for the main event. Perhaps the most impressive of the bunch was 20-year-old LaPorte product Justin Sule of the Maple City club. Sule staggered his opponent with a vicious cut and the fight was stopped in 42 seconds.
As for Zbikowski, he didn't know he had a new opponent until around 5 p.m. Germain, a 26-year-old whose first two pro fights were last Tuesday and Friday, didn't get the call until 4 p.m.
"Luckily, we saw him on 'Showtime'," Zbikowski's father, Ed, said.
St. Germain was just happy for the opportunity.
"He's a lot faster than the other guys I went against," St. Germain said of Zbikowski.
The Zbikowskis wanted to maximize the money going to charity, so they did all the work themselves rather than hiring people. The resulting rough edges caused many anxious moments, but in the end, it was still worth it to the family. It was a chance to give back years after the Zbikowski family was on the receiving end of such a gesture.
Sue's oldest son, E.J., was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he was 5. He had an operation a year later, but the cancer came back. He went for a second operation at the Mayo Clinic when he was 9. This time the cancer didn't come back.
But the financial scars remained.
"We had a small outstanding bill," Sue Zbikowski said, "and you pay it monthly and you pay it monthly and you pay it monthly and pay it monthly, and you got it down to a certain dollar amount. And one day I got a letter from the Mayo Clinic and it said, 'Because of such and such benefactor, the balance of your medical bill is paid.'
"Now how awesome was that? It was small, but I cried. I cried because every dollar counts when you're in that type of situation. So how nice would that be if we could do that for someone? It means a lot. I mean if it's only 1,000 bucks, that's 1,000 bucks you don't have to pay."
Tuesday night's proceeds were split among three charities — Hannah & Friends, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Ed Zbikowski estimates the proceeds will be $40,000 after expenses.
"It was trial and error, with more error than anything else," Sue said. "It's pretty crazy. Hopefully, we didn't aggravate anybody We were flying by the seat of our pants, and there were a lot of screw-ups. We tried to make it work.
"That's what makes it worth it, and it's for Tommy. That's what he really wants to do. He's so busy. Does he understand everything that goes on behind the scenes? No. But he's the presence that can make the difference. That's what he wants to do."
N
notdam4
Guest
I talked to my buddy who was there and he said it was pretty unimpressive, but this could obviously be the reason why.
irishranger
New member
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I just think it says alot about the character of Zibi, one to do this or charity, and two to not knockthe guy out just because he could. He is not only a hard nosed athlete but a quality person as well. I am proud that he represents ND!
S
southbendkid
Guest
I went to the fight. I was extremely impressed with zbikowski in the first round but i think he was winded in the second and third round. In the first round alone the other guy did not get one solid hit on him , I think that z broke his nose, and Z clobbered him about fifteen other times. I thought he was too tired to finish him off in the second and third round. It was awesome, z let the other guy throw the first several punches to play with him. He ducked and crouched away from about three punches and he did this explosive flying uppercut and nailed him square. The crowd exploded. I thought Germain was dead in the water but he took his punches well and stayed up for the rest of the rounds. I doubt that z wasn't trying to knock him out. I thought he didn't knock him out because Germain was extremely tough. He took a beating and he didn't fall down once against a much better opponent. I heard a rumor about them planning a second fight for money. I'm looking forward to it. Germain is definitely no chump.
here's a video:
http://www.blueandgold.com/content/?aid=3468
I saw a lot of players in it that weren't mentioned in the articles. travis thomas, ambrose wooden, gordon, chris stewart and some other guys were all shown in the early crowd shot.
http://www.blueandgold.com/content/?aid=3468
I saw a lot of players in it that weren't mentioned in the articles. travis thomas, ambrose wooden, gordon, chris stewart and some other guys were all shown in the early crowd shot.
Last edited:
Junkhead
Community Mod
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I just watched the whole video. TZ was taking it somewhat easy in the 1st, but went for the KO in rounds 2-3 and couldn't get it. He looked tired. St. Germain fought well, I'd like to see these guys go at it for $$$. I'm no boxing expert, but is it weird that TZ does that bend over duck thing so often?
I'm no boxing expert, but I agree that he looked tired. But I'm looking in context of the lightweights at the Bengal Bouts and the flurries that happened there. some of those fights there was just constant close up punching the whole fight practically. and it thought it was a little odd how much he ducked, but i'm sure he knows what he is doing. again, my fight experience is limited to watching the occassional fight on TV and watching the Bengal Bouts and asking a few questions.