Military MMA links: Brandon Sayles video, Herschel Walker visit, Marine boxers win
February 10th, 2012 | Army Boxing Combatives Football Marine Corps Mixed martial arts UFC | Posted by Kevin Lilley
For those of you sick of the latest service academy basketball news (either here or here), try these combatives links:
Army (Superheavyweight) Strong: Staff Sgt. Brandon Sayles gets a nice video treatment from the folks at HDNet before his fight tonight at XFC 16:
Sayles, a three-time Army Combatives Championship winner, will face Chase Gormley live on HDNet; the fights start at 10 p.m. ET. Also on the card is former Marine Dustin West — check out an XFC news release on his work with the Wounded Warrior Project here. Not sure if you get HDNet? Click the “subscribe” tab here.
Football legend stops by: Herschel Walker is known for many things — a college football career that ranks among the best ever, his time as the face of the now-defunct USFL, the famous trade that sent him to Minnesota and helped create a Dallas dynasty (How famous? This famous), and a 2-0 record as a Strikeforce heavyweight as he rushes head-on toward age 50.
He’s also known for going public with his battle against Dissociative Identity Disorder. Multiple personalities may not be at the top of the priority list for military medicine, but mental health issues are. That’s why Walker’s message during his recent visit with soldiers and families at Fort Bliss, Texas, is so important. Staff Sgt Casey J. McGeorge, who wrote this release about the visit, put it best: “There is no shame in seeking help.”
Walker, who turns 50 in March, may have one more fight left in him, according to an SB Nation report citing a recent interview in a magazine After Action only reads for the articles.
Marines take gold: OK, the arts aren’t exactly “mixed,” but it’s big news anyway — the Marine Corps ended Army’s two-decade win streak at the Armed Forces Boxing Championship at Camp Pendleton, Calif., earlier this month. Click the previous link to read about Marine Sgt. DeJesus Gardner’s gutty performance in the 201-pound weight class to clinch the overall win, and get the Army write-up here.
West Point again wins boxing championship; women make their debut
April 12th, 2011 | Boxing | Posted by Amanda Miller
The U.S. Military Academy men’s boxing team won its fourth consecutive College Boxing National Championship on Sunday, continuing an unprecedented run of success for the Army program. Five cadets took individual national titles for West Point, who prior to 2008 had not won a national championship in the sport.
The Naval Academy finished with two individual champs, while Air Force had one.
The West Point women’s boxing club also made its debut this past week, with three female fighters claiming wins in exhibition bouts during the Collegiate Boxing Association Championships: Cadet Kelsey Smith beat Cadet Katherine Houle; Cadet Giovanna Camacho beat Cadet Rebekah Estime; and Cadet Brandi-el Cook beat Penn State’s Anna Juska.
Results from the men’s bouts, courtesy of West Point public affairs:
112 pounds: Andrew Pineda (Air Force) defeated Ethen Isacson (Army)
119 pounds: Tom Payne (Navy) defeated Matt DeMars (Air Force)
125 pounds: Andrew Morales (Nevada) defeated Danilo Garcia (Army)
132 pounds: Jerome Foster (UNLV) defeated Langston Clark (Army)
139 pounds: Terrell Anthony (Army) defeated Dan Starr (Air Force)
147 pounds: Steve Escobar (Army) defeated Justin Maio (Coast Guard)
156 pounds: Jeremy Catalano (Nevada) defeated Joe Silvio (Air Force
165 pounds: Ryan Roach (Maryland) defeated Angelo Lonero (Navy)
175 pounds: Ryan Johnson (Army) defeated Chris Bertucci (Navy)
185 pounds: Luke Culver (Navy) defeated John Maddux (Army)
195 pounds: Mike Igaunis (Army) defeated Zac Spranger (Air Force)
Heavyweight: Brett Rather (UNLV) defeated Andre Shinda (Army)
De La Hoya mixes it up with troops in Iraq
March 17th, 2011 | Boxing Iraq | Posted by Phil Creed
Olympic gold medalist and former 10-time world champion Oscar De La Hoya works with Spc. Anthony Tobin at Forward Operating Base Camp Justice, Iraq, March 13. (USO)
Boxing legend Oscar De La Hoya has always been one of the Good Guys in pro sports, and he proved that again this month by visiting U.S. troops stationed in Iraq and the Middle East. De La Hoya, along with three up-and-coming fighters from his company, gave boxing clinics and mingled with various troops on the week-long trip, which sponsored by the USO.
The experience, which included visits to bases that came under fire, left him humbled.
“Hearing their stories and seeing what they go through on a daily basis has changed my life,” De La Hoya told ESPN’s Dan Rafael. “The opportunity to see how our troops live and understand their ability to be ready for anything at a moment’s notice showed me what it means to be truly brave.”
Read more about De La Hoya’s trip here.
Vets can get into tonight’s title fight at the Silverdome for free
January 29th, 2011 | Boxing | Posted by Sean Smyth
“When we say freedom, it don’t come cheap.”
Those are the words of the great Don King, one of the most flamboyant sports personalities we’ve seen.
King says uniformed members of the military and veterans, as well as police officers and firefighters, will get into tonight’s light heavyweight bout between Devon Alexander and Timothy Bradley at the Silverdome in Pontiac, Mich., for free.
“For those who put themselves in harm’s way to substantiate and uphold the liberties we enjoy, nothing should be too good for them,” King said.
A special marked window will be open at the Silverdome box office from 5 to 8 p.m.
West Point wins college boxing national championship, again
April 11th, 2010 | Boxing | Posted by Phil Creed
An Air Force Academy boxer, left, and a West Point fighter square off during the semifinals of the National Collegiate Boxing Association championships on Friday. (West Point Public Affairs)
The U.S. Military Academy won its third straight national championship at the National Collegiate Boxing Association championships on Saturday.
Five Army cadets won individual titles, and a total of nine boxers competed in the finals for West Point, which was hosting the championships for the first time. Per the heraldrecord.com, Army’s individual winners were:
- Danilo Garcia (125 pounds)
- Johnny Garcia (132)
- Terrell Anthony (139)
- Steve Henao-Escobar (147)
- Ryle Stous (165)
West Point’s Andrew Manglcimot, Jamal Robinson, Tyler Elliott and Seth King were all runners-up. Two Air Force boxers — Matt DeMars and Cory Tintzman — also won national titles, according to The (Colorado Springs) Gazette.
The USMA boxing program has surged to the top of the college ranks under the leadership of director Ray Barone, a retired soldier who served in the Army for 21 years. Prior to 2008, West Point had never won a national championship. Barone and the West Point team were profiled in a recent New York Times story, which chronicled how Barone took the program from losing to rivals Air Force and Navy every year to winning back-to-back championships.
Gen. Robert Caslen summoned Ray Barone, the boxing director, to his office three years ago. Caslen asked Barone why Army’s boxing team never beat Air Force, or Navy. He wondered why Army never won national championships.To which Barone responded, “Because you won’t let us.”
At West Point, there are 27 club sports, each with a specific amount of authorizations, which free cadets for training during specific periods each day. When Barone took over the boxing program in 1999, he had zero authorizations. By 2007, he had 20. In Caslen’s office, he boldly requested 60 and guaranteed a national championship would result.
To which Caslen responded, “Done.”
Three championships later, it’s looking like a really smart decision.