If you thought last Friday night was a good show, “You ain’t seen nothing yet,” boxing fans. Halsey Field House is the site of the US Naval Acadmy Brigade Boxing Championships tonight at 7:30, and you can’t beat it for entertainment and price. It doesn’t cost a penny. “Best show in town,” said Dr. Thomas Florestano, president of Anne Arundel Community College, who was among the VIP’s at last week’s semi-finals. Also among the nearly 1,500 who jammed into the cozy arena last Friday was the academy Superintendent, Rear Admiral Thomas C. Lynch. Lynch graduated from the academy in 1964 after winning brigade championships his sophomore and junior years. He thoroughly enjoyed the semis, and tonight’s finals – featuring last year’s winners – should be just as exciting.

Three familiar county names – Mike Huber, Dan Holsberg and Tom Shanley – are among tonight’s contestants. The winners advance to the Eastern Collegiate Boxing Association Regional on March 20-21 at a site to be determined. Who it will be is anybody’s guess in most of tonight’s 11 championship bouts. Navy head coach Jim McNally and assistants Ron Stutzman and Lt Dennis Hasson aren’t even sure. The field is that competitive for the scheduled three-rounders, which last two minutes each.

Marvin Reed, a polished senior and two-time brigade champion ranks as the only “lock”. Of course, anything can happen, and Reed’s opponent, Chris Browning, hopes the unlikely does occur when he jumps into the ring to duke it out for the 165-pound title. In the 165 semi, Reed literally chased former Navy running back Vinny Smith all over the ring in taking a unanimous decision. Talk about relentless chase, that was Reed stalking Smith. Finally, in the final round, Reed landed a lightning like combo that had Smith reeling. Smith took a standing eight count before the bell saved him.

Browning, a sophomore, took a suprising split decision over freshman Ibrahim “The Nigerian Nightmare” Shehu in the other 165-pound bout. The announcement of a split decision in Browning’s favor resulted in a chorus of boos, but Browning’s knockdown of Shehu in the final round may have swayed the judges.

To upset Reed, Browning will have to do his best to stay clear of the Bronx bomber. Even with his speed and quickness, Smith was unable to do that. The Reed-Browning bout will be the seventh on the card. The night starts off with a 119-pound bout between junior Kirk Loftus and sophomore Chad Burke. Those two were unopposed last week and advanced by virtue of “walkovers.”

A pair of freshman in Eric Stenzel and left-hander Don Savage will go toe-to-toe for the 125-pound crown. Stenzel came out firing in the first round and went on to take a 2-1 decision over Peter Jensen in the semis. Savage, an Ocean City native, was impressive with his southpaw reach in taking a unanimous decision over Fritz Nauck. If the crowd isn’t into the Brigade finals after the Stenzel-Savage bout, it most certainly will be by the start of the 132-pounder. Sophomore Shane Voudren is defending champion and has quite a following from his Company 14.

A banner reading, “Voo Doo Will Rock You” was waving at the top of the stands last Friday night, as Voudren scored repeatedly on junior Mike Cho to take a unanimous decision. Craig Rogerson took the other 132-pounder, also by unanimous decision, over fellow senior Tony Fabiano, but now faces the curse of the “Voo Doo.” It’s a curse that got Voudren himself last year when the boxer won the regional, but broke his hand and couldn’t box in the national tournament.

At 139 pounds, South River High’s Mike Huber will meet Roy “Wicket” Pickett. Huber, a former Seahawk hoopster, is a junior while his foe is a freshman. Both won by “referee stops contest” (RSC) decisions, which is your basic TKO. This should be a good one.

Senior Mark Sexton had the night off last week by virtue of a walkover in the 147-pound class, but he should be busy tonight with sophomore Matt Watt. The latter took a 2-1 decision over senior Lou Palazzo, who many thought won the fight.

Another local, Broadneck’s Dan Holsberg, will go after the 156-pound title against Mike Schollman in the battle of seniors. Holsberg was impressive in the semis, knocking out junior Scott Kraft in the second round. Schoffman didn’t KO Jeff Morosetti in the other semi, but he had the sophomore foe take an eight count in the last round and won by unanimous ecision.

Reed and Browning follow, then its on to the heavier weights with Clint Chlebowski, who was held out last year with a hand injury, vying for the 172-pound title against fellow junior Troy Turner. Chlebowski is anxious after winning a brigade title as a freshman and missing out last year. He survived a 2-1 decision over a game Chnadler Comerford in the semis, while Turner advanced by walkover.

At 180 pounds, lanky senior Dirk Cooper, last year’s 165-pound chanpion when Reed moved up to 172, will strap on the leather vs. junior Andy Bartle. Cooper won over sophomore Doug Wahl by RSC in the first round of the semis. Cooper floored Wahl midway through the initial round to advance to the final against Bartle, who scored a 2-1 decision over freshman Hank Molina.

Anyone who leaves before the last two bouts will miss a couple of promising slugfests, especially at 190 pounds. Senior and crowd favorite “Irish” Gerry McMurray will go after junior Bill Jewett. With his Company 04 waving an Irish flag and calling his name in the top row of the stands last week, McMurray knocked junior Terrance Hand into the ropes in the first round. Hand managed to stay around until the third round, when the referee stopped it as McMurray unleashed a barrage of punches. Jewett won what appeared to be a free-swinging endurance test by 2-1 over sophomore Matt Reiman in the other 190-pound semi. The two boxers had the crowd on its feet as they slugged it out until the final bell.

A third local will be in the ring for the night’s final bout, the heavyweight championship. Tom Shanley, a senior in a long line of Shanley brothers from St. Mary’s High, is the favorite to win the heavyweight title over sophomore Tom Scheer. Scheer, who was recruited as a swimmer, is there by default. He was knocked through the ropes a couple of times last week by bulky senior Sean Shingler and lost a unanimous decision. Unfortunately, for Shingler, one of those brawler types who goes about 260 pounds and bench presses 420, badly sprained his wrist in a pile-up with Scheer and can’t go tonight. In the second round, Shingler drove Scheer through the ropes and, when the referee got between them, all three went down. Shingler injured his wrist in the bizarre takedown. After facing bruising Shingler, Scheer now gets Shanley, who is considerably lighter at 205 pounds, but is just as aggressive. Shanley battered sophomore David Taylor for two rounds last week, and the latter didn’t answer the bell for the final round.

In addition to genuine Navy spirit you will feel in the gym if you attend tonight’s finals, what’s also nice is the way the show is run. Coach McNally and staff, which includes such volunteer refs and judges as Leo Schumaker, Chris Willison, Tom Halavacheck, Earl Smith, Bob Kavanaugh, Earl Schubert and Capt. Kostrub, keep things moving smoothly and safely.