The Michigan men's boxing club has agreed that Floyd Mayweather and Oscar De La Hoya will attract plenty of attention in their "mega-bout" in May. But the team has its own "mega-bouts" to worry about.

The club competes with the 24 other members of the National Collegiate Boxing Association in three to four tournaments annually.

Most recently, they competed in Pittsburgh against schools like Navy and Miami (Fla.). Six Michigan fighters participated in the event, compiling a 3-3 record in the tournament.

But the Wolverines' focus isn't purely on wins and loses. The entire team has formed a tight bond by making each member of the club a better, more skilled fighter.

While focusing his aggression on the heavy bag in front of him, Dallas Gillespie, an amateur fighter who works with the club, stopped training to show his support for a Wolverine and yelled, "Come on Joe! There you go! Come on!" and gave him a pat on the back.

The team's members also have to battle each other in sparring bouts to prepare for upcoming tournaments.

"It seems really stupid to let someone go in there and kill you," junior David Koren said. "But it's with friends, so it's fine."

These friends seem to have a united opinion on all things boxing. Most important, they all established they box for more than just the fighting itself.

"Boxing teaches you to be a man," Gillespie said. "You have to train right and eat right. It's really a lifestyle."

Said Eastern Michigan student Greg Sizemore: "I've been a football player my whole life, and it was about keeping in shape more than anything."

Many college athletes would like to have the honor and prestige of having varsity status, but the Michigan boxers felt they were better off as a club sport. Once the NCAA decided to stop sanctioning boxing in 1960, it took 16 years for the NCBA to step in and organize boxing clubs across the country. The Michigan boxing club is delighted it did.

"I'm glad, because otherwise I wouldn't be here," Sizemore said.

Because of the club team's status, Eastern Michigan boxers can train with Michigan, and in return, Eastern Michigan provides some equipment to the gym in Ann Arbor.

"I wouldn't want to be a varsity athlete, with the pressure," Koren said. "Here, we practice two or three times a week, and it's at your own individual pace."

This flexibility in the schedule allows the boxers to take off time after tournaments and train hard before the next tournament on the schedule, much like a professional boxer would.

The main focus in professional boxing these days is on the bout between the pound-for-pound champion, Floyd Mayweather, and the middleweight champion Oscar De La Hoya. The Wolverines had some thoughts on the fight that everyone is talking about.

"Mayweather will crush him." Gillespie said, "De La Hoya is too rich and too unfocused. To box, you have to be focused all the time."

Sizemore promptly interrupted and shouted from across the gym.

"No way, De La Hoya is still good! It's definitely a draw."

Well, maybe they don't agree on everything.