Described by Penn State coach Bill Wrable as a whirlwind, the 139-pound Bayly is off to a 2-0 start this season and is looking to make his fourth trip to nationals in as many years. Last season, he finished second in his weight class.
"This season is going very well for Doug," Penn State team president Alex Komlev said. "He has already fought and beat some of his key opponents who he will face at nationals."
Bayly, whose nickname is Weze, started boxing when he came to Penn State after a stint in the Marines. Since he was a freshman, he has refined himself from a raw fighter to a disciplined boxer, and a very successful one at that.
"We've had Weze from freshman year and he's better every year," Wrable said.
Bayly compensates for a short reach and a few missing inches by out-pointing his opponents and terrorizing them with numerous uppercuts and combinations to the body.
"Boxing is like chess," Bayly said. "You're very focused into the game. . .you have to keep control, a good boxer is a controlled boxer."
"The style that Doug fights with is somewhat of a skilled brawler," Komlev said. "Due to his size, he constantly has to pressure his opponents and fight on the inside."
Training 15-20 hours a week, Bayly has developed a passion for the sport that goes beyond the adulation stereotypically sought after by prizefighters.
"Boxing is my love," Bayly said. "I could have one person in the crowd watching me and I'd be the happiest man alive just because I love being in the ring."
Bayly is also quick to make the distinction between world of pro boxing, with management that he describes as shady, and collegiate boxing. He classifies his sport as free of the shenanigans that plague the professional fight game.
As far as his wildman persona goes, Bayly loves it.
"I have goals," the marketing major said. "But for now I'm a boxer and a boxer is supposed to have an image and I hope I have an image that exudes fighter."
Bayly's fellow fighters do not mind his wild ways either.
"It's difficult to explain, it's something one has to be a witness of," Komlev said. "Without Doug's wildman personality, the season would not be half as interesting as it is."
On the immediate horizon, Bayly is looking ahead to the regional championships, where he will try to repeat as champion. For his last season, he has set his sights high.
"Always set goals as high as possible," Bayly said. "This year, that would be National Champ and also to be part of a team National Championship."
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