The Georgetown Club Boxing team hosted their third annual Blue and Gray Gloves showcase on Healy Lawn this past Saturday. Students from East Carolina University, Baltimore University, and the United States Military Academy joined the Hoya boxers in eight exciting bouts.
“I thought the showcase was absolutely phenomenal. Before the show, everything went very smoothly. Things went great during the show. We had a great emcee. And we had a lot of help after the show to help clean up,” said Jeff Wong (MSB ‘16), a co-captain of the team. “From a board member’s perspective, I’m looking at not just the fights, but the logistics of the show.”
Not every member of the 25-person practice squad had the chance to fight, but those who didn’t suit up were on hand in their team shirts to help set up, run, and break down the event.
“There were very few hiccups. So, because of that, obviously the show was a success,” Wong continued. “The new members of the team did the bulk of the work. The day of, all of the administrative things were taken care of.”
There were only two fights that did not involve Georgetown boxers, and three that were exhibition bouts between two Hoyas, the rest consisting of Hoyas versus boxers from the other universities. Wong was involved in one of these exhibition bouts, fighting teammate DK Yun (COL ‘16).
“The fight went just about how I expected,” said Wong. “There was some natural escalation as the fight went on, but I did expect that. We were both pretty happy about how it turned out.”
Yun displayed similar sentiment regarding the fight. “Jeff did really well. I felt like we were both very technical, and we both landed good shots. It wasn’t a wild fight,” he said. “We were demonstrating our skills in boxing, and that’s what I really enjoyed about the fight.”
The final fight of the afternoon involved Sinead Schenk (COL ‘17) and West Point fighter Richelle Radcliff. Schenk carried out an aggressive game plan, landing hard shots throughout the fight, causing the referee to halt the match on two occasions for a head count.
“I did well. I put in a lot of work. Over the summer I trained, and I trained a lot when I came back, so it finally paid off. I improved a lot since [United States Intercollegiate Boxing Association Boxing Nationals],” Schenk said. “I didn’t really want to beat the shit out of her, but once I was in the ring I did think that way… I wanted there to be no question at all, so I had to go after her.”
While all fights ended in decisions, with the exception of the exhibition bouts, which did not have victors, Schenk aimed to knock out her opponent.
“It sounds really barbaric, but the look in her eyes, I could tell she wanted to quit, so I thought that if I could hit her with one hard show she would be down. That sounds awful, but she was tough. I thought she would quit, especially after the second head count, but she kept going, so kudos to her.”
Schenk’s fight was a crowd favorite, energizing not only the audience, but other members of the team.
“Our last person to fight was [Schenk], she’s a sophomore,” said Vania Silva (COL ‘16), a team co-captain. “It was a great fight against the West Point girl. She did phenomenally. Everybody loved it.”
Given that the showcase has traditionally been held in Yates Field House, the move to the idyllic Healy Lawn was a much appreciated change of venue. The team hopes to make this move an adjustment that continues into future years.
“I think it was great. I was surprised we were able to have it on Healy Lawn. I was very pleased about that. Turnout was amazing,” said Silva. “I think everybody had a good time, especially at the end with the main event, everybody was cheering.”
The team is also looking to expand the event, aiming to have more groups on campus present during the showcase to expand the cultural impact and appeal.
“For next year, we definitely want to keep it at Healy Lawn. We want to increase club sponsorship,” said Yun. “This year, we had the Hawaii Club. They sold baked goods there. But we want to expand it to other cultural clubs. We’re going to have a table for them so they can bring food.”
The Georgetown Boxing Team is currently exploring their options regarding their next fight. However, they are certainly pushing to box again in the District and if all goes well then look for another showcase to hit Healy Lawn next October.
Photo by Vania Silva
