Causeway Boxing Classic: Sacramento State and UC Davis to host amateur fights

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KTXL) – There’s a brand new sport in the causeway rivalry between Sacramento State and UC Davis.

On Thursday, university officials announced the Causeway Boxing Classic, which will feature a full card of amateur fights between athletes from both schools. The inaugural boxing event will take place on Nov. 22, the eve of the annual Causeway Classic football game between the two schools.

The location of the boxing event will be announced at a later date.

Sacramento State is hosting the November boxing event through its new Combat U program, the first-ever university-backed development program for combat sports. The program was announced in January and is launching during the fall 2024 semester.

“Combat U has already reached over 700 students,” Sacramento State boxing club coach Brandon Gonzales said in a news release. “We’ve been training for months, and our athletes are excited for what’s ahead.”

The Combat U program was developed through a partnership with UFC Hall of Famer and UC Davis alum Urijah Faber to create a collegiate pathway into professional combat sports.

Boxing is one of the sports offered in the program, which also includes wrestling, Muay Thai and jiu-jitsu. Sports through Combat U are not sanctioned by the NCAA.

Boxing is making its return to Sacramento State for the first time in 60 years. The university used to have a boxing team from 1955-1961, and the program was ranked in the top five nationally during its existence.

UC Davis has offered boxing as a club sport for the past 16 years, and the newly announced event allows the club’s athletes to showcase their skills.

“This year, we had three all-Americans at our national tournament,” UC Davis boxing club coach Joel Stern said. “We’ve had national champions before, and our women’s team was second in the nation before.

“So we’ve had success.”

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