He fought for a better world

He fought for a better world

Mouth guard? Check. Boxing gloves? Check. Urge to help schoolchildren in Bangladesh? Check.

Kieran Bulger, weighing 147 lbs., steps into the ring in Notre Dame, Ind., to compete in the Notre Dame University Boxing Championship match in his weight class. He wins the first fight easily. His legs drag, feeling like concrete, but he wins the second and third, too.

Mr. Bulger is a counterpuncher: He works off of other fighters' mistakes. By the fourth fight, his energy fizzles. He tones down his combination punches and focuses on pushing his left fist toward his opponent, putting distance between them. He counterpunches.

Finally, he wins the fight with a flurry of punches.

"You kind of just have to suck it up and go with it and afterward, you can collapse," said Mr. Bulger, a Catholic whose home parish is St. Joseph's in Greenwich, later on.

At first, boxing really wasn't about winning for him, but he's happy he nabbed the championship. What makes Mr. Bulger happier is that his membership on the university's club team enables the Holy Cross Brothers to run schools and pay teachers in Bangladesh and provide the poor there with medical care, nutritional programs and outreach programs.

The team, known as the Bengal Mission Bouts, charges admission to its annual championship match and donates the funds to the missions. Since its inception in 1931, it's raised more than $1 million.

The Bouts raised more than $100,000 this year. In addition to admission and merchandise profits, each boxer raises at least $300.

Three years ago, at the start of his sophomore year in college, Mr. Bulger transferred to the school. His roommate took him to a team practice, where he learned the motto: "Strong bodies fight, that weak bodies may be nourished."

"I was just struck by the atmosphere of the place," said Mr. Bulger. "It was really fulfilling."

So he joined. He trained two hours a day, five days a week. He hit punching bags, sprinted, ran and did pushups. In high school, he had played soccer and basketball, but "boxing, it's all on you," he said. "It's something I always wanted to see if I was capable of - on my own."

His first few fights lasted just six minutes, but they still proved tiring.

"It's an odd experience," Mr. Bulger remarked. "You go in there nervous [about being] punched."

He wasn't worried about his safety, though, explaining that boxing is safer than most team sports: His club used a scoring system, so hurting one's opponent is not necessary.

He remained a novice for the first year, competing from October until winter break. For the next three years, he juggled boxing, his major in economics and jobs in the campus store and elsewhere.

Mr. Bulger graduated last month. He's unsure if he'll continue boxing, but he's keeping his gloves and shoes - and he acquired, above all, a spirit for helping others.

This fall, the new grad will start a year in Orlando, Fla., with Catholic Volunteers in Florida. He hasn't learned his placement yet, but he's hoping to use his economics skills.

In the end, the boxing team had a lot to do with his decision, he said: "It's really been a much more profound experience than I expected."

(06/17/10)