Last night’s Brigade Boxing championships proved the adage “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.” When Mike Francis first applied for admission to the Naval Academy, the Pittsburgh resident didn’t make the grade. That didn’t stop him from chasing his dream of becoming a naval officer.

When J.J. Puga was growing up in the south Texas town of McAllen, many of his neighborhood friends were in boxing programs, but his father wouldn’t allow him to get into a ring. That didn’t douse the fire that burned inside the youngster who wanted more than anything to try his hand at the fight game.

Francis, who won a Brigade championship last year after transferring from Penn State to Navy, pulled the upset of the night when he defeated three time Brigade and national champion Todd Alexander in the 165-pound contest. And Puga decisioned Ryan Duffy in the 156-poind contest to join a select few who have in the 56 years of one of the academy’s most colorful and spirited events, by earning his fourth brigade boxing championship.

It was a night of excitement and courage that saw 180-pound Jon Bradley repeat his brigade championship and walk off with the coveted Spike Webb Trophy awarded annually to the midshipman judged the outstanding boxer of the championship card. Bradley, a senior from Radcliff, KY who is already a two-time national champion, was selected for the honor by virtue of his defeating freshman Andy Lynch when the bout was stopped by referee’s decision during the third and final round of the bout. Bradley’s victory was not nearly as surprising as Francis’ win over Alexander. It was Alexander’s first loss at any level of amateur boxing, which is reason to call the result an upset. But Navy boxing coach Jim McNally admitted that he was not as surprised at the outcome as some others. “I know Mike Francis is a very good boxer and I knew he would give Todd a great fight,” McNally said. ‘The truth is that I hated to put those guys in the ring against each other because they’re best friends and they know each other so well.” Francis was a national collegiate champion in his one year at Penn State. Ironically, McNally had already made the decision to redshirt Francis this year, which means Alexander will be Navy’s 165-pound representative when Navy hosts the National Colegiate Championships in mid-April. “The transition from Penn State to Navy was tough when I first arrived here. I missed the absolute freedom I had at Penn State and the parties, but I know it will all be worth it for me in the long run,” Francis said. Francis bloodied Alexander’s nose in the first round, which made the bout appear more violent than it was. The blood was simply one of the signs of Francis’ unexpected superiority. Ironically, when Alexander was a freshman, he won his first brigade title by defeating three-time champion Alex Bullock. “It was hard for both of us to get in the ring. We talked a lot about how hard it would be. But once we were in the ring and the bell rang, I just started boxing,” Francis said.

Puga’s victory was no surprise, even though he dropped down a weight class to be better prepared for the upcoming nationals. He was a senior champion fighting against a courageous but outmanned plebe. Experience was a major factor. “This has been my goal since day one,” the elated Puga said. “When I got here, the first thing I did was to start boxing because it was something I always wanted to do. “I was a swimmer in high school because my father wouldn’t let me get into boxing. I guess he didn’t want my nose to get hurt. When I got here I saw all of the boxing plaques and I heard all of the stories about Dick Hoffman, who’s one of our coaches now but wasn’t here when I arrived. When I heard those stories I knew that this was what I wanted.”

Jason Lavarias, who was a runner-up in last year’s nationals, repeated as 125-pound champion with a decision over Jay Hamilton. Then John Shepard successfully defended his 132-pound title by topping Frank Monterisi. Cy Mellet, a defending national and brigade champion, defeated Keevin Lowery in the 172-pound contest.

Other champions, each of whom received a “Rear Admiral Jack C. Renard” placque for winning, include Mike Marinello, who beat Jeremy Hoffman at 119; Ty Biggs, who topped Ed Adams at 139; plebe Nic Wisecarver, who defeated Colin Keenan at 147; Ryan Miller, who outpointed Tarey Gettys at 190; and Jarrod Donaldson who decisioned Karl Schmidt at heavyweight.