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Blood splatters across the ring as crowds of barely-clad women scream hysterically.

Two sweaty undergraduates are fighting for glory and their reputations are at stake.

Men clutching cans of Stella jump to their feet, bellowing “hit him” and “go on, son” at their flailing flatmates.

As the referee raises his whistle, a confused woman shouts: “Who won?”

“I’m not sure it matters,” comes the reply. “They’re both getting laid tonight.”

At one of the most popular university fight nights in the UK, students are battling it out to the delight of their peers.

Between bouts, glamorous undergrads in skin-tight mini-dresses dance in the walkways, swinging bottles of wine among friends.

Organisers of the event say they take a number of safety precautions including on site medical professionals, an accredited referee and insurance.

But the event is unlicensed and unregulated by the governing body for amateur boxing, which has repeatedly warned of the dangers.

Three fighters told Mirror Online none of them were medically assessed either before stepping into the ring or after.

Have you been affected by this story? Email webnews@mirror.co.uk

(Image: Gentlemen's Fight Night) (Image: Gentlemen's Fight Night)

The warehouse, on a trading estate in Cardiff, has been transformed into a nightclub-cum-arena and if no one is fighting, it is the women's turn to take centre stage.

During the rounds, guests cram two to a seat while VIPs enjoy table service ringside.

Tickets were available to buy on Skiddle, a primary ticket outlet and events guide, for £25 per person, or £200 per VIP table.

The ring walks - accompanied by base-dropping tunes, smoke machines and flares - are the biggest spectacles of the night.

Many people associate white-collar boxing with frustrated City boys, or the 1999 film Fight Club starring Brad Pitt, but ‘gentlemen’s’ fight nights have quickly become the hottest night of the year for university students across the country.

Last year, 20-year-old Ben Sandiford, from Crewe, Cheshire, suffered two cardiac arrests and spent 17 days in hospital battling for his life after a similar event. His family called for a ban on the sport.

Ben's grandmother Rosaleen Andrews-Sands said: “The issue of these unlicensed fight nights is never far from my mind. It's a year on from Ben's incident and while he is recovering well he still has lots of problems.

“Many people have been affected by what he went through and what he continues to go through. He is still traumatised.”

But ‘fight night’ popularity continues to build for students up and down the UK.

(Image: Gentlemen's Fight Night)

In the last year, boxing events have been held for university students in Exeter, Bath, Newcastle, Glasgow and St Andrews.

In Cardiff earlier this year, one spectator says she “hates fighting” and finds it difficult to watch the boxers “getting lumped”, but goes because it is regarded as “one of the best nights out”.

She says: “It’s an excuse to get a new dress and do something different. The music’s good and everyone is buzzing. Plus there’s booze. What more could you want?

“I know a couple of the fighters and I think they just see it as a chance to try something different, get fit and be the centre of attention.”

The fight night is run by Paper Agency UK, an events company set up in 2010 and based in Cardiff, and is not affiliated with Cardiff University or Cardiff Metropolitan University.

The company's Facebook page dubs it “the most talked about event in the student calendar” and claims to have trained “50 students into fighting machines” since 2016.

(Image: Gentlemen's Fight Night) (Image: Gentlemen's Fight Night)

All 16 contenders for the event in April announced themselves on student website The Cardiff Tab in the lead up to the big night.

Iwan ‘Big Fish’ Fesnoux, a bio-med in his final year at Cardiff University, told the site: “Boxing is like sex - I’ll be on top from the start and it’ll be over in a minute.”

Archaeology student Dav ‘Bby Boy’ Pollard said: “I’m not God, but I am something similar.”

And Rhys ‘The Bath Bomber’ Evans, a final year economics student, said he was only fighting for the free vodka.

On the night, the mood among competitors is high although many look dazed as they stumble out of the ring post-fight.

"I wasn't looked at by a doctor or a medic before fighting," fighter Chris Conway said.

"They said there would be a doctor at the event but I didn't see one or hear of one checking anyone over."

Medical assessments are mandatory for all events regulated and licensed by England Boxing and the Welsh Amateur Boxing Association.

In the case of this event, fighters claim they signed a waiver which absolved the promoters of responsibility should they get injured, or worse.

After exiting the ring, a 22-year-old undergraduate says: “I’ve been training for seven weeks solid with a proper coach but it was exhausting.

“I was shattered after the first round. It’s harder than it looks.

“It was fun though - I’d do it again next year if I wasn’t graduating.”

(Image: Gentlemen's Fight Night) (Image: Gentlemen's Fight Night)

A few days after the event, Chris explained the training process.

"We do between an hour and an hour and a half of training four times a week for seven weeks," he said.

"I had no background in boxing and lost on points on the night, but it was still really good.

"It felt quite different to training and all went in a bit of a blur really.

"Afterwards we all had a table at Revs [a nearby nightclub] and a great night."

In the UK, amateur boxing is governed by England Boxing and in Wales, by the Welsh Amateur Boxing Association. Professional boxing is governed by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBC).

Events held for university students are rarely recognised by either of these organisations, which means they are potentially unsafe and lacking in proper medical expertise.

Boxing’s governing bodies are concerned fatalities will follow unless white-collar boxing events are more tightly controlled with clear regulations and a governing body to ensure accountability.

(Image: Gentlemen's Fight Night) (Image: Gentlemen's Fight Night)

England Boxing Chief Executive Officer Gethin Jenkins: “The boxing world tends to refer to ‘white-collar boxing’ as if it were an entity with a clear definition and identity. In reality, it is a catch-all term for any form of the sport that is not licensed by any recognised governing body.

“While some of it can be well organised, some of it is poorly organised and is unaccountable, unregulated and can be unsafe, with the latter causing justifiable concern for both safety/duty of care and reputational issues for our sport.

“Safety has, and always will be, the number one priority for England Boxing, which is why we have such rigorous safety processes in place that we follow with all our boxers.

“No contact sport can be completely safe, but the series of procedures that must be followed by our membership, which is not always the case will all ‘white-collar boxing’, ensures the activity risk is As Low As Reasonably Practical.”

(Image: Gentlemen's Fight Night)

He added: “All our competitive bouts take place under the supervision of a recognised and qualified events supervisor, as well as qualified referees, judges and officials, and is backed up by the provision of a ringside doctor at every event. This also ensures the boxers are matched evenly, not only in terms of weights, but by the number of bouts they have participated in and their training experience. This cannot be guaranteed in ‘white-collar boxing’.

“It is also mandatory for all competitive boxers to have an annual medical assessment and, prior to each bout, boxers must again receive a further medical assessment, ensuring they are ‘fit-to-box’.

“Any boxing not policed by these measures does, therefore, cause concern, and we would urge anyone, students or otherwise, who want to learn to box competitively to join an England Boxing-affiliated club where they will be regularly assessed to decide when they are ready to take on a competitive bout.”

A spokesman from Paper Agency UK said the event includes cornermen who are professional boxers or trainers along with professional and accredited referees.

He also said competitors are covered with gold-level insurance of up to £2,000,000 each and all fighters must wear head protection and 16oz gloves.

He said the company pays for medical professionals to check each fighter and there is an ambulance on site during the fight.