It was supposed to be the best, at east the most competitive, bout of the evening. And it lived up to its expectations, setting the tone for the night.

Shane Voudren won his third straight Brigade Boxing Championship with a decision over Eric Stenzel. It didn’t come easily. Neither did John Ohman’s knockout of 180 pound foe Troy Turner; a contest that was a slugfest in every sense of the word until the surprising conclusion.

While 147-pounder Matt Watt didn’t get the crowd nearly as excited as some of the other boxers, his skill and form and his first-round victory earned him the Spike Webb Award.

Voudren, a junior from Turners Falls Mass., engaged in a slugging match with his Dallas, Texas opponent. The two went toe-to-toe from start to finish.

Two walkover champions, Alex Salunga at 112 pounds and Alex Loftus at 119 warmed up the crowd with a no decision exhibition. But the best was yet to come. And the crowd, dressed n everything from business attire to sweat suits, didn’t have to wait long.

The 132-pound finalists came out throwing punches seconds after their names were announced and the crowd was every bit as frenzied as the two men in the ring. Fans jumped to their feet as the boxers pounded each other with reckless abandon. Drums and Bugle Corps members hugged their instruments, but waved their fists and made their sounds yelling for their favorite instead of playing - until the bout was over, that is. Then their music kept the fans hearts pumping with upbeat sounds as the judge’s cards were collected and the decision was anxiously awaited.

The Voudren victory was not unexpected by the crowd, that almost seemed relieved that the perpetual motion had ended. “I sort of expected to have a brawl,” Voudren said. “We beat each other up every time we spar and we do that a lot during the year.

“I knew that Eric gets a little wild when he gets tired. He gets excited and throws a lot of sweeping hooks. I kept throwing punches to try to get him doing that.” Now as a three time Brigade Boxing Champion, Voudren, who said he hasn’t been in any real fights since kindergarten, has “some bragging rights” around the Naval Academy. “Actually, you get a lot of recognition as a Brigade Boxing champion,” Voudren said. His opponent, who didn’t lead quite as docile an existence while growing up, admitted that he got tired ad stood up and almost let Voudren hit him in the third round. “I used to get into alot of fights when I was a kid,” Stenzal confessed. “I was pretty small and guys would call me Shorty or other things not as nice and I would have to fight with them.

“That went on until high school when the other guys got too big and I had to control myself.” But, with the size evened up by the weight classes, Stenzal had no qualms about going up against Voudren. Stenzal assured he was well aware of the crowd noise. In fact, he said he knew he had been hit with a hard right by Voudren, but didn’t really know how well he had been hit until he heard the reaction of the crowd.

After Pete Jensen took a decision from Ryan Norris in the 139-pound contest, one that was well-fought, but quite calm after the card-opening melee, came the only stopped bout of the evening.

Watt, possible the best pure boxer among the midshipmen, earned his second title when his 147-pound contest was stopped at 1:58 of the first round. Watt delivered several telling blows on opponent Art Wills and when the latter let down his guard let bout was over. Watt is a hard, compact puncher, whose power was just too much for Wills. It was said enough for the judges to select him as the most outstanding boxer on the card.

“The Spike Webb Award is very special. It’s something that I’ve strived for since last year when I saw Clint Chlebowski get it.” Watt said. The Warren, PA resident said he worked very hard on his form during the past year; concentrating on keeping his elbows in and delivering precise punches. “I have to admit I’m very surprised they chose me for the Spike Webb Award. It’s something I’ll always be proud of. I’ve strived to be better. I’ve worked hard. The Spike Webb Award is my reward for that.”

Alex Bullock won an often-stopped 156-pound bout over an out-manned, but not out spirited John Bobo, who refused to back off from the storm of blows that had his face splattered with blood. The ringside doctor Marilyn Boitano, who received an award for her contributions to amateur boxing, checked Bobo and allowed him to continue because he suffered no real damage.

Following Chris Browning’s decision over Scott Kraft at 165-pounds, Chandler Comerford won the 172-pound title when David Fink was retired after a series of punches landed and slowed his reaction.

The crowd was back into the action for the 180-pound contest. This time the D&B members remembered their instruments – at least the drummer did as he pounded out a beat that kept up the rhythm of the fighters. That didn’t last long. The fight got too good and the excitement too much to allow anyone to simply watch quietly.

With time running out in the third round and fans shadow boxing and shouting and dodging and feinting in the stands, Ohman suddenly sent Turner thudding to the canvas. The fight was over, but the crowd was wired with two bouts left on the card.

Joe Wiendl didn’t allow the crowd to settle down before he put down Matt Reimann and had the bout stopped with only 52 seconds elapsed in the 190-pound match.

With many of the football players standing and cheering in the mild din for their teammate Wes Philbeck, the heavyweight pounded Matt Jackson into submission to bring the bout to a premature end and send the excited throng home chattering about the sensational night of boxing.