Boxers stood toe to toe last night (02nd May) as Royal Air Force Wittering hosted a charity boxing night for the RAF Benevolent Fund and the RAF Association.
Image by: SAC Matty Smith
Held in the cavernous expanse of No 2 Mechanical Transport Squadron’s hangar, the boxing night consisted of eight bouts between amateur boxing clubs, the Army and Royal Air Force Stations from across the country. The tournament was the culmination of weeks of work for Flight Lieutenant Juliette Lewis and Flight Sergeant Dave Hughes.
Image by: SAC Matty Smith
Flight Lieutenant Juliette Lewis commands the Service Discipline Flight at RAF Wittering and was Officer in Charge for the event. She said: “Boxing nights take a lot of organising, but it’s been a brilliant success. RAF Wittering is proud to showcase a night of quality sporting entertainment, the determination of the boxers has been amazing, and we’ve raised around £2000 for the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund and the Royal Air Forces Association.”
Flt Lt Lewis is no stranger to the boxing ring; she is second in command of RAF Wittering’s boxing club and fought at the Cambridgeshire Station last year. RAF Wittering photographer, SAC Matty Smith, was on snapping duties last night. Matty won the sports category of the 2017 RAF photographic competition with his image entitled ‘Still Standing’ which echoes the boxing movie ‘Raging Bull’.
There was no shortage of physical fitness and grit as the audience was treated to some excellent rounds. SAC Thomas Falconer from 71 Inspection & Repair Squadron and SAC Adam Close from 5001 Squadron represented RAF Wittering in their bouts.
Flight Sergeant Dave Hughes is the Senior Physical Education Instructor at Royal Air Force Wittering and project officer for the boxing night. He said: “Boxing has a genuine place in the Armed Forces, you need fitness, agility, technique and controlled aggression. One of the key things about boxing that people often forget is overcoming that ‘fight or flight’ response when you get into the ring, in combat situations that level of self-discipline is vital.”
Atmosphere is everything at sporting events and the 250-strong audience did not disappoint. Boxers were welcomed to the ring with enthusiastic cheers and the victors applauded at the end of each bout. The evening was compered by Warrant Officer Trevor Shippey from RAF Waddington and expertly refereed by Squadron Leader Karl Whalley, Chairman of the RAF Boxing Association.
Most of the bouts consisted of three rounds of two minutes. Judges awarded points for the number of quality blows landed on target, domination of the bout by technical and tactical superiority and competitiveness.
Image by: SAC Matty Smith
Group Captain Tony Keeling is the Station Commander at Royal Air Force Wittering. He said: “What a great evening! Flt Lt Lewis, Flt Sgt Hughes and the team have done a tremendous amount of work organising tonight and it’s paid off beautifully. We’ve seen some very skilful boxing; it’s been competitive, dramatic and the Station has raised a respectable sum for the two RAF charities. A job really well done.”
