| ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Went to Washington last
weekend for Syracuse-Georgetown. Entertaining as it was, the best shot I saw
all weekend belonged not to Billy Edelin or Gerry McNamara but to Amir
Shareef.
A little after 9 p.m. Friday in Halsey Field House at the U.S. Naval
Academy, the chiseled righthander from Brooklyn caught a sophomore from
Alabama named Brian Harp with an explosive left hand. The punch, the first
exchanged in a bout between the 165-pound pugilists, sent a surge of
electricity through the 4,000 fans, among them plebes (freshmen), friends,
faculty and locals. For 15 to 20 seconds, the methodical breather and
puncher who headlined Navy's Brigade Boxing Championships — an academy
ritual since 1941 — combined lefts and rights, driving Harp to the ropes.
This sight — boxing on a college campus — is almost unheard of because the
NCAA cut the sport in 1961 following a 1960 bout that led to the death of a
Wisconsin fighter. Syracuse shut down the sport in 1957 following a
successful run that included a national championship in 1936 and seven
individual NCAA champions under Roy Simmons Sr.
Its absence is rarely noted because the sport is fledgling at all levels.
Professionally, it is often despicable (witness: Mike Tyson) and
unfulfilling (see: $24.95 for 49 seconds of Tyson vs. Clifford Etienne).
Yet here at Navy, boxing remains not only a tremendous source of pride but a
prime teaching tool. All sophomores are required to enroll in a boxing
class. That made me wonder: Why not bring back boxing as an intramural or
club sport at Syracuse?
Navy coach Jim McNally said Air Force, Army and Notre Dame host tournaments
similar to the brigades. At Notre Dame, interested students take
conditioning and boxing classes during the fall, then train for six weeks
beginning in January for the Bengal Bouts. The 72-year tradition drew 125
boxers this year and raised $70,000 for Red Cross missions in Bangladesh. |