LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
The All-Army Boxing team won the team award in the 2011 Armed Forces Boxing Championships held Feb. 18 at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. This marks the 20th year in a row the Army has won the event.
Army boxers entered the finals undefeated in the preliminaries, and a Soldier fought in each gold-medal fight.
In the first fight, Army Spc. Carrie Barry trounced Lance Cpl. Melissa Parker of the Marines in the first round and held the lead, winning 13-10 in the female division's 132 lb. weight class.
Army Sgt. John Franklin crushed Marine Cpl. Alex Diaz, staying out of Diaz's reach while landing quick, point-scoring blows for a 15-2 win in the 114 lb. weight class.
The Marine Corps broke the Army's winning streak when Lance Cpl. Abraham Lopez dominated Spc. Guy Jean-Baptiste, shutting him out for the first two rounds and holding him at bay in the third for the 16-5 win. Lopez took gold in the 123 lb. weight class.
Army Sgt. Toribio Ramirez trailed Lance Cpl. Tommy Roque from the Marines by six points in the finals round, but managed to rally with a several brutal combos, winning the bout 17-14.
Marine Cpl. Jamel Herring beat down Army Spc. Dustin Lara, winning 16-2 and picking up a second win for the Marine Corps in the 141 lb. weight class.
Army Sgt. Samuel Vasquez ravaged blows through Marine Cpl. Joel Bolden's defense. The fight ended in the third round when Bolden was too disoriented and the referee stopped the contest. Vasquez took gold in the 152 lb. weight class.
Marine Cpl. Damarias Russell countered pounding combos from Army Spc. Zacchaeus Hardrick with even harder combos for the win, 21-13, in the 165 lb. weight class.
Army Spc. Jeffrey Spencer chose his point-scoring blows well and defeated Navy Hospital Corpsman Brandon Wicker in a 12-2 win, taking gold in the 178 lb. weight class.
The Army closed up the competition when Sgt. Charles Blackwell bested Air Force Senior Airman Kent Brinson, 18-13, in the 201 lb. weight class.
"This is my last competition," said All-Army Boxing Team Head Coach Basheer Abdullah. "I couldn't have asked for a better performance from the team. It's a great feeling."
The Marine Corps team took silver in the team awards.
The Pentagon Channel captured all the action in high definition and it's slated to air in early spring. (Courtesy,
The Pentagon Channel)
Championship Bouts Final Results
(18 Feb 2011)
- Female 112 lbs: SPC Sherica Redrick (Army) Fort Carson, Colo., uncontested Gold Medalist
- Female 125 lbs: CPT Andrea Peters (Army) Fort Carson, Colo., uncontested Gold Medalist
- Female 141 lbs: CPT Rachell Wehrle (Army) Fort Bliss, Texas, uncontested Gold Medalist
- Female 132 lbs: SPC Caroline Barry (Army) Fort Carson, Colo., defeated LCpl Melissa Parker (Marine Corps) Camp Lejeune, N.C., 13-10
- Male 114 lbs: SGT John Franklin (Army) Fort Carson, Colo., defeated Cpl Alex Diaz (Marine Corps) Camp Lejeune, N.C., 15-2
- Male 123 lbs: LCpl Abrahams Lopez (Marine Corps) Camp Lejeune, N.C., defeated SPC Guy Jean-Baptiste (Army) Fort Stewart, Ga., 16-5
- Male 132 lbs: SGT Toribio Ramirez (Army) Fort Stewart, Ga., defeated LCpl Tommy Roque (Marine Corps) Camp Lejeune, N.C., 17-14
- Male 141 lbs: Cpl Jamel Herring (Marine Corps) Camp Lejeune, N.C., defeated SPC Dustin Lara (Army) Fort Carson, Colo., 16-2
- Male 152 lbs: SGT Samuel Vasquez (Army) Fort Carson, Colo., defeated LCpl Joel Bolden (Marine Corps) Camp Lejeune, N.C., by RSC 2:12 (3rd round)
- Male 165 lbs: Cpl Damarias Russell (Marine Corps) Camp Lejeune, N.C., defeated SPC Zacchaeus Hardrick (Army) Fort Carson, Colo., 21-13
- Male 178 lbs: SPC Jeffrey Spencer (Army) Fort Carson, Colo., defeated HN Brandon Wicker (Navy) Navy Hospital Camp Lejeune, N.C., 12-2
- Male 201 lbs: SGT Charles Blackwell (Army) Tucson, Ariz., defeated SrA Kent Brinson (Air Force) Fort Carson, Colo., 18-13
- Male 201+ lbs: SSG Andrew Shepherd (Army) Fort Carson, Colo., uncontested Gold Medalist