Soldiers, Airmen 'smoke' each other during USAG Humphreys boxing tourney

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Stephen Collier
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
US ARMY GARRISON HUMPHREYS, Republic of Korea --  Fighters from both the U.S. Army and Air Force settled their interservice differences in the ring during the 2007 summer Smoker Boxing Tournament Aug. 11 here. 

  The competition, sponsored by Army Morale, Welfare and Recreation, pitted 36 males from Osan, Kunsan and Suwon Air Bases against Soldiers from across the Korean peninsula in 18 bouts, each lasting through three rounds. The boxing smoker lasted more than three hours. 

  The 6 p.m. fight began with fighters Wilson Rivera of USAG Humphreys and Kunsan's Michael Barry during two rounds. A ferocious Rivera delivered one-too-many jabs above the waist, securing the win and ending the fight early. Soon after, Juan Flores from Kunsan beat out Osan's Steve Jordan during a head-shot, three-round bluesuiter bout. 

  Air Force fighters took over the ring next, pitting Kunsan's own against each other with Jason Burke taking on Derek Rowe in the fight. Burke 'patti-caked' with Rowe early on, but laid into the Wolf Pack Boxing Team fighter hard, taking him down in the second. Gregory Shoopman from Humphreys put Kunsan's Sergio Sanchez down on the mat twice, but still lost out to the Air Force fighter in round three. 

  After being asked where he expected Kunsan's Airmen to rank in comparison with their Army and Air Force counterparts, Wolf Pack Boxing Team head coach Richard Mora said, "I honestly believed these guys (Kunsan opponents) don't train as hard as we do." 

  "As hard as we train in a week, these guys will never compare," the coach/boxer said. "I push them through a lot during training, so coming here should be easy for them. Going into this fight, these guys were hungry and they were ready. We showed the Army how to box." 

  Determined from the start, 157-pound Grayson Walker from USAG Eagle stepped into the ring next, taking on Kunsan's Erick Rivas for the first Soldier-on-Soldier fight. Walker poured on hard hits from the beginning, taking down Rivas by total knockout. 

  Soldiers went at it again with Ken Laird of Eagle taking on David Sanders. Laird laid into the USAG Casey Soldier each round, taking the win after split decision. 

  Casey's Leonardo Avila and his long reach lined up to take on Kunsan's Aaron Valdes for the next Air Force-Army fight. Valdes needed just 35 seconds, putting Avila on the ground for a total knockout. 

  Blasting his way out of the bell, USAG Yongsan's Jeff Duncan pummeled on USAG Hovey's John Hoskins. Like a machine gun, Duncan continued to open up on an unsuspecting Hoskins, taking the win in round three. Casey's Courtney Donnatein took on Humphrey's Curtis Waller next, throwing both lower jabs and upper cuts in round one. Waller continued to keep his head down, giving Donnatein more opportunities at head shots, not mention the win after referee decision. 

  Intermission looming, the Air Force's Devin Goodnoe from Kunsan took to the mat, taking on Elzavon Maxie from Casey. Maxie's larger arms couldn't trump his slower speed, giving Goodnoe the advantage in the third for the win. 

  "I'm havin' a ball," said U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Jason Kim, USAG Humphreys command sergeant major about the fight. "USAG Humphreys hosts a lot of events so this is a great way to keep our Soldiers on post instead of having them off. Boxing is an exciting sport so a lot of people enjoy this kind of sport. Tonight, the Air Force has a good chance. There is good competition between them and the Army." 

  The action continued, putting Kunsan's Vincent Reed up against Humphrey's Avery Robinson. Robinson showed his strength early on with lightning swings into Reed's midsection. Even though he tired himself out, Robinson took the fight by split decision. 

  Lucky bout number 13 was next, with luck going to Kunsan's 179-pound monster Tim Silva with a knockout on Yongsan's Lincoln Gordon just 45 seconds into the first round. Sgt. Maj. Kim quickly presented him a coin after the fight. 

  Dustin Crawford from Eagle and deployed Michael Gordon from Aviano Air Base, Italy, stepped up next with veteran Crawford taking it to Gordon in the first. But Gordon turned around in the second, forcing Crawford to see stars after knocking him to the ground. 

  Next it was time for another Air Force knock out with Suwon's own Elijah Gilbert laying into Humphrey's Joshua Jamal, forcing Referee Ki-Taek Kim to call the fight after 10 seconds. 

  Determined not to give the Air Force all the knockouts for the night, Sean Pate from Humprheys stepped up and leaned into Kunsan's David Rodriquez, putting him down after 16 seconds. 

  Humphreys and Kunsan returned again, with 196-pound fighter Tremaine Gordon and 201-pound Luther Jones sparring respectively. Both fighters came out strong early, matching each other's blows. After Gordon delivered two free hits on Jones after the referee's intervention, the fight was called, giving Jones the win. 

  Kunsan and Yongsan met again, with fighters Amon "Rampage" Wester and Vincent Matheny respectively putting each's 190-pound plus punches into one another. Wester delivered back-to-back lethal blows onto Matheny, knocking him out of the ropes to take the win. 

  The night's main event arrived with a history-making fight featuring Humphrey's Won-Tae Kim, a 'KATUSA' Soldier, versus Kunsan's Justice Burrus. Both fighters danced around each other into the third, with Burrus taking more points over Won. 

  Lawrence Blackwell, USAG Hovey and three-year boxer, said he was interested in a rematch with Kunsan's boxers, but only after the new USAG Casey boxing team had been formed. 

  "After the Fourth of July match at Casey, a lot of guys were interested in getting a team off the ground," he said. "Right now, we have between five and 10 guys. This is Kunsan's day, but I promise you, we're going to have an evenly-matched fight between the Air Force and the Army. We'll be ready."

Overview

Rivera defeated Barry in round two; Flores defeated Jordan; Burke defeated Rowe in round two; Walker knocked out Rivas; Sanders loses to Laird after judge decision; Valdes knocked out Avila in round one; Hoskins loses to Duncan; Donnatien defeated Waller; Maxie loses out to Goodnoe; Robinson defeated Reed; Gordon loses by total knockout from Silva; Crawford defeated by knockout from Gordon; Gordon knocked out Jamal; Sean Pate delivered total knockout to Rodriquez; Jones defeated Gordon; Wester takes down Matheny by knockout; Burris defeats Won in round three.