LAJES FIELD, Azores (USAFENS) -- For a group of boxers at Lajes Field, March 11 could be a luminous, hue-filled night.
“It can be very colorful, getting hit,” boxer Ryan Smith said.
“I’ve seen all kinds of colors after getting hit,” boxing trainer Chris Lance said.
The ‘Rumble on the Rock’ amateur boxing event is scheduled for March 11 at the Portuguese hangar by the Lajes Fire Department, and will showcase between six and 10 matches. Active duty Air Force members have been training at the T-203 cold storage facility for the event since Jan. 23.
Chris Lance from the 65th Civil Engineer Squadron came up with the idea for the event last year.
“A lot of people found out I’m an ex-boxer and began to ask why I didn’t start a boxing program here. At first I blew it off, but people kept asking me, so I polled the wing to see if we’d have enough interest, and found out we did,” he said.
Boxers have been enduring a rigorous training program run by Lance and fellow trainer Ray Sandoval, 65th Medical Operations Squadron, which consisted of an initial two-week boxing class and another five weeks of practice.
“Training is almost verbatim Air Force Academy boxing.” Lance said. “And we’re using National Collegiate Boxing Association rules.”
Lance boxed at the U.S. Air Force Academy for four years and is a three-time USAFA Wing Open champion, an NCBA Western Regional Champion and a two-time NCBA National Bronze Medalist. Sandoval is a former amateur boxer with a 10 - 0 record. He was the Utah State Golden Glove Champion in the Light-Heavyweight Division and the North West Region Golden Glove Champion in the Light-Heavyweight Division.
The combined experience seems to be making a great impact on the boxers.
“I’ve noticed people getting in good shape out here -- losing unnecessary weight, getting in better physical condition and gaining confidence,” Lance said.
“Training has been intense. It involves constant movement, rotations and circuits,” said boxer Colin Kerrigan.
“I never knew boxing would demand such a high level of endurance,” said boxer Jeremy Gingrich. “You see it on TV and in the movies and think, if Stallone can do it, I can. But when you’re in the third round of sparring and begin to feel your legs give out, you know you’ve got to keep up with the training for when the real fight comes around.”
The endurance training is only half the story at practices. Lance and Sandoval spend a lot of time teaching technique and movement, two essential elements to boxing success.
“[Boxing] is not a fight; it’s everything but. A fight involves high intense emotion and guys rolling around on the ground choking each other. This is boxing, it’s a sport.”
Lance describes boxing as a strategic match where two opponents search for vulnerabilities and exploit them with speed, power, accuracy and precision.
Lance said although the boxers might have a few jitters on the night of the ‘Rumble,’ he expects all the training they’ve experienced to pay off in the end.
“I think you’re going to see a lot of guys who are pretty nervous to be there, but it’s going to show how they rely on their training, and it’ll show what they’ve learned over the last month and a half.”
The boxers seem excited too.
“When you’re in the ring it’s just you and another guy, there’s no excuses,” Kerrigan said.