Joe Pierce, right, A Company, 4th Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, ducks a punch from Elton Brand, D Co., 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 5th BCT, 1st Armored Div. (Army Evaluation Task Force), during the boxing smoker sponsored by 2nd CAB Thursday at Milam Gym. Photo by Heather Wilburn.
2nd CAB knocks out opponent at boxing smoker
Heather Wilburn, Special to The Monitor
Soldiers from 2nd Combined Arms Battalion, 5th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division (Army Evaluation Task Force), earned bragging rights Thursday when they took the ring to defeat 4th Bn., 6th Infantry Regiment, 4th BCT, 1st Armored Div., in a boxing smoker at Milam Gym.
The smoker featured 10 three-round bouts with one Soldier from 2nd CAB and one from the 4-6 Inf. Reg. taking part in each fight. The winner of each matchup earned one point for his or her team, and the team with the most points at the end of the smoker won bragging rights. The Regulars won six of 10 fights to take the title.
Shandrial Wiley, F Company, 4-6 Inf. Reg., drew first blood for her unit with a victory over Meagan Hindle of FSC, 2nd CAB.
Wiley said she had never boxed before, but decided to give it a try.
“My first sergeant was saying, ‘Let’s go, we need a girl,’ so I said I’d do it,” she said. “I had fun. I have no idea about boxing, but I came out and did my best. Winning was awesome, especially since this was my first time – I’m happy.”
Guy Vroman of C Co., 2nd CAB, made quick work of Carlos Heres, E Co., 4-6 Inf. Reg., in the second bout, and George Ulloa of D Co., 2nd CAB, defeated Steven Evans of E Co., 4-6 Inf. Reg., to give 2nd CAB an early 2-1 lead in the point standings.
Daniel Bryan of A Co., 2nd CAB brought that lead to 3-1 when he defeated Jose Sandival of A Co., 4-6 Inf. Reg. Austen Fulmer of A Co., 2nd CAB, increased his battalion’s lead to 4-1 when he defeated Jonathan Walker of E Co., 4-6 Inf. Reg., in one round.
At first, Fulmer wasn’t going to take part in the smoker, but decided to when he found out he was needed.
“I walked in (to work) Tuesday morning and they needed an extra guy in my weight class,” he said. “I can’t turn down a fight, so I said yeah.
“It was real quick,” Fulmer said of his fight. “I’m still pumped up. I still have tons of energy.”
Shandrial Wiley, left, F Co., 4-6 Inf. Reg., prepares to throw a punch at Meagan Hindle, FSC, 2nd CAB, during the boxing smoker Thursday. Photo by Heather Wilburn.
Matthew Hyde of A Co., 4-6 Inf. Reg., chalked up the second win for his battalion by defeating Patrick Bond of FSC, 2nd CAB, and John Burrell of D Co., 4-6 Inf. Reg., added another point to the battalion’s tally with his win over Brian Lewis of A Co., 2nd CAB.
Joshua Einsele of E Co., 4-6 Inf. Reg., pulled the score to an even 4-4 when he beat K.J. Jackson of D Co., 2nd CAB.
“It feels pretty good to win,” Einsele said. “I just threw up a bunch of Taco Bell, but I feel good. I just wanted to show some E Company spirit and come out here and fight and have fun.”
Frank Whitmore of A Co., 2nd CAB, regained the lead for his battalion when he outfought Michael Biggs of D Co., 4-6 Inf. Reg., and Elton Brand of D Co., 2nd CAB, sealed his battalion’s victory when he beat Joe Pierce of A Co., 4-6 Inf. Reg., in the final official fight of the night.
The smoker was designed as a teambuilding exercise to bring the two units closer together, said Capt. Joe Sahl, commander, E Co., 2nd CAB.
“The way we build teams in the Army is through competition,” Sahl said. “It’s just a way to get to know our counterparts and develop a relationship with them through some friendly competition. It’s a good, safe way for the Soldiers to get out and have fun without causing trouble.”
Sahl said getting fighters for the smoker was easy.
“There are always plenty of people who want to fight in the Army – we just try and do it in the ring whenever we can,” he said.
Frank Whitemore, left, A Co., 2nd CAB, and Michael Biggs, D Co., 4-6 Inf. Reg., tie up during the 2nd CAB-sponsored boxing smoker Thursday in Milam Gym. Photo by Heather Wilburn.
Sahl praised the Soldiers of E Co., under the leadership of 1st Sgt. James Allen, for doing a good job in planning and setting up the event and making it fun for the Soldiers.
“We really appreciate their hard work,” he said.