VICENZA, Italy - Footwork and fundamentals took center ring at the Caserma Ederle fitness center March 19, when Vicenza boxers gathered for their usual early morning workout.
Athletes train all the time, but Vicenza's boxers are at it with a vision and a mission these days, working their way into a winning frame of mind for bouts at the Rumble in the 'Gart Boxing Invitational to take place April 5 at Patch Barracks in Stuttgart, Germany.
"It always comes back to mastering the fundamentals," said team coach Tom Talley as he watched his boxers go through their paces. "Practice doesn't make perfect, but it makes muscle memory."
Talley should know, having fought competitively as an undergraduate at Virginia Military Institute back in the day. Now the G-5 with U.S. Army Africa in Vicenza, Talley achieved national amateur ranking and has a couple of pro fights under his belt in nearly three decades in and around the ring. He was upbeat about the progress the Vicenza boxers have made since their last outing north of the Alps in November, when they finished second at the Wiesbaden Boxing Invitational.
"You have to have the discipline to succeed, to learn, to study hard. You've got to be a student; it's about learning. You don't have to be the toughest guy, you have to be the smartest," said Talley.
And his "students" have been making progress, each with his or her own motivation for getting in the ring.
"I love the sport and it's a family thing," said Socorro Baron of USAHC Vicenza, the only woman training that morning. "My dad was always into it."
For In Hong Lee, a radiologist technician at the health center, taking to the ring is a second chance to shine in the limelight.
"When I was 16 I was an amateur boxer, but I had to give it up for my college studies. It's my last chance to be a real amateur boxer," he said.
Among the young lions on the team, fans should keep an eye on Stephen Pickens of 173rd Airborne Brigade Support Battalion. He has made substantial progress during his six months with the team, but the motivation to get in the ring goes back to his childhood.
"I always wanted to get into. As a young kid my dad made me watch Ali (Mohammed Ali) and Sugar Ray (Sugar Ray Robinson), but there wasn't much of a chance to get into it for a kid in a small town in Mississippi," said Pickens, who hails from Gibson, Miss.
There are a total of nine boxers on the team now, said Talley, fewer than last winter. A total of seven will travel to Stuttgart weekend after next to see how they stack up to the competition. The Vicenza team, all NCOs and junior enlisted, will include Pickens, Lee, Kerry Harris, Melvyn Velez, William Ransom, Bryant Hall and Demotto Youngblood.
Joshua Rubio of Company C, 1st-503rd, 173rd Airborne, was on hand for the training, though he will not be competing in Stuttgart. Rubio boxed with Vicenza last fall, but since he will ETS in the near future he has been passing on his insight and support to the team. With 80 fights under his belt, that's a lot of insight.
"I already had too many fights. I'm going to turn pro when I get back to the States," said Rubio, who will be heading home to Kansas City, Kans. He said his motivation for boxing is part of his family tradition as well.
"From my dad. He was a boxer, but when he had a baby he couldn't fight any more, so he trained me. He loves it. It makes him real proud," he said.
Rubio was upbeat about the Vicenza team's chances in Stuttgart.
"You can tell they've improved a lot. Every little detail: the footwork, keeping their hands up. They know what they're doing," he said.
Coach Kevin Reid, an NCO with USARAF CCP who has been with team since it got going about 14 months ago, shared the positive assessment.
"We were about a C team then, now we're at B+ and working our way up to an A. Shadow boxing and better footwork is the key," said Reid as he worked in the ring with each boxer, wearing a body protector to let each fighter practice body blows.
"You can woo the crowd with head shots, but you win bouts with body shots," he said.
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