Stout Slugfest: Ringside at the Border Rumble

Photo By Staff Sgt. James Avery | Two boxers duke it out at the Border Rumble in Mitchell W. Stout Physical Fitness Center, Fort Bliss, Texas. The Boxing Smoker, hosted by the Morale, Welfare and Recreation department and El Paso Golden Gloves, featured active duty Soldiers and local amateur fighters with less than five amateur bouts, Sep. 6. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. James Avery, 16th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment)  

EL PASO, TX, UNITED STATES

09.05.2014

Story by Sgt. James Avery 

16th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

FORT BLISS, Texas – Noisy spectators line the bleachers surrounding the field of battle: a 16 by-16-foot boxing ring in the center of what is normally a basketball court. Rock anthems and Top 40 songs blare out of loudspeakers overhead as spotlights above the ring light up dust motes spiraling down to the floor.

Outside this innocuous brown brick building lies a parking lot that is normally spacious enough to accommodate visitors to the Mitchell W. Stout Physical Fitness Center, but now overflows into the fields behind it, and onto Cassidy Road as well.

Amid the chaos, small groups of boxers warm up with their trainers, using punching mitts to simulate an opponent’s movements. Near the ring, medical professionals are giving exams such as taking blood pressure or test hand and eye coordination.

I wander around the ring, the only fully-lit object in the gym, and, having never been to a boxing event before, I find myself feeling a little nervous about the impending violence to take place here.

My children, of course, take no notice of this, and proceed to harp on the various vendors at the entry doors to the gym. Small flashlights and business-card wallets are given out freely to all who stop by the sales pitch.

Past the vendors, secured to the ground, stands a red and blue inflatable tunnel emblazoned with Fort Bliss MWR Sports in giant, white lettering. Red and blue LED’s light the interior while a smoke machine randomly spouts white fog into the tunnel. Several children make it their mission to run through the smoke, jumping out and yelling like gladiators claiming victory.

Given that, like most MWR events, the Border Rumble was free, it’s no surprise to see so many spectators, many of which are Soldiers in uniform who came to cheer on boxers from their units.

Looking around the crowded gym for an empty bench big enough for myself and my two children, I find one close to the center of the gym with a great view of the ring. Getting comfortable on the plastic red, white and blue benches that match the American flag hanging on the southern wall, I pull out my camera and get ready for anything.

A USA Boxing referee climbs into the ring, wireless microphone in hand, and announces the first two fighters, both of whom have theme music playing as they enter the ring, hopping on their toes and throwing lights jabs at the space in front of them.

Regardless of uniform color, the boxers are directed to either the red or blue corner of the ring and face each other diagonally. They continued to hop and jab, never taking their eyes off each other, their trainers talking to them, giving last minute tips and observations.

Then a judge hit a circular bell of red painted steel with a small mallet, and the slugfest is on. In a whirl of punches, the boxers dance around each other, almost floating above the ring floor. It was so incredibly fast that some of the punches thrown are a mere blur.

When next the bell rings, I cannot believe that three minutes have passed. The fighters are separated by the referee and go to their corners of the ring. There they receive valuable information from their trainers based on observations of the first of three rounds the boxers will face. They also get water and whatever minor medical attention is needed before the bell rings once more.

Two more rounds of fury go by, and I can tell the boxers are becoming fatigued. Their punches slow down, and they miss more hits. There is less movement and more hanging on to each other -- the referee quickly breaks these moments up.

Toward the end of the final round, the fighters seem spurred on by encouragement from trainers and spectators alike in the crowd. I find myself yelling at both boxers, preferring not to choose sides, but lending my own brand of encouraging stimulus, though I doubt I am heard over the cacophony of noise coming from the crowd.

With an actual sigh of relief from the crowd and the boxers, the final bell sounds and the fight ends, both boxers hugging each other in the ring. A sort of camaraderie has blossomed between the two fighters, a common respect for each other, as it were. Though they fought for supremacy in the ring, they apparently leave as friends, or at least friendly rivals. Such is the way with competition in the Army.


For more information about this and other MWR events, visit their website at www.blissMWR.com, www.facebook.com/teamblisssports.

For more information about the El Paso Golden Gloves visit http://www.texasgoldengloves.com/districts or contact Ladislao Vicencio, JR. at [phone].

• Date Taken: 09.05.2014
• Date Posted: 09.10.2014 12:43
• Story ID: 141674
• Location: EL PASO, TX, US