The preliminary rounds for the Bengal Bouts boxing tournament at Notre Dame were Sunday at the Joyce Center. The event is now in its 81st year.
But in all that time, it has never before seen the likes of one nearly senior citizen.
People told Terrence Rogers he didn't belong there. At 55 years old, he is believed to be the oldest to ever compete in Notre Dame's Bengal Bouts tournament. But as he stepped into the ring for the first time in 32 years, he didn't even feel nervous.
Everything just felt right.
"I was just ready,” Rogers said. “I couldn't wait to get in there and get it going. I was ready to rumble."
As a Notre Dame undergrad in the late 1970s, Rogers made it all the way to the championship bout three straight years, only to leave in defeat. In 1979, he graduated from Notre Dame, but the dream never died.
"I felt, I have to come back here, I know I can take this title. And I wanted to do that ever since I left in '79. It just turned out that it took me 32 years to actually do that,” Rogers said. "I had so many naysayers that told me that there was no chance that I could compete against these young kids. And that actually spurred me on to want to do it even more and show them it could be done. And I do think I did that today."
In many ways, Rogers isn't all that different from the others who stepped in the ring. Like most nearing graduation, his life is about to turn a new page.
He's newly married, with baby on the way and a new career on the horizon.
After all these years, he's back at Notre Dame pursuing a Masters of Law in the one-year International Human Rights Law program, which puts the challenges he faced getting back in the ring in a whole different perspective.
"It's nothing compared to some of my classmates and what they've been through,” Rogers said. “Those are civil rights activists and lawyers and labor law practitioners, whose lives have been in jeopardy and been threatened. And in some cases they can't go back to their own countries. And when I sit in a classroom like that, with people where the most dangerous thing I've done is look both ways before I cross the street, it really is a humbling experience."
So was what happened as the final round intensified. The Joyce Center filled with cheers for Rogers.
“I heard it,” Rogers said. “They were yelling my name. I heard it. I noticed it. Even in the heat of battle, I heard it going on."
In the end, he lost by unanimous decision to senior David Cray. But it was a close, competitive fight throughout.
"I'm disappointed that I lost, but I can't say it wasn't an amazingly fullfilling overall experience," Rogers said. "I thought I fought well, and I fought to the best of my abilities. And I left it all out there too. There was nothing left. And I guess that's all you can ask for."
