Fight Night returns to ring bigger, better at Fort Hood

FORT HOOD, Texas - The sound of fists flying and crowds cheering echoed around Abrams Physical Fitness Center during Fight Night: Return 2 The Ring Sept. 12 here.

After the popular comeback of Fight Night in June that brought a crowd of more than 2,600 people and watch parties at installations across the nation, the Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation hosted another - this time bigger.

With more than 100,000 views on the livestream, and thousands that attended, this fight night featured 16 active-duty Soldiers competing in eight bouts, with each round lasting two minutes.

After weeks of practicing, the Soldiers were ready to leave it all in the ring.

For 2nd Lt. Sharnae Harmon, 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, this was not her first time boxing.

Harmon won two collegiate national championship titles at 119 pounds and a New England Golden Gloves championship title at 125 pounds. With her experience behind her gloves, Harmon won by unanimous decision against Sgt. Ashley Ferreiro, 61st Quartermaster Battalion, 13th Armored Corps Sustainment Command.

"I remember maybe the first 20 seconds of the fight, I came out and I was like, 'I'm just going to throw my jab, feel her out,'" Harmon explained. "I've never actually fought her before so I needed to know what her fighting style is. She hit me with one clean two to the nose - smelled a little iron. I was like, 'I got to go. I got to bring it up now because ain't no way she's about to make my nose bleed.'"

On the other hand, Pvt. Raul Gonzalez, 2nd Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, said it was his first-ever boxing match and told himself to just simply keep going during the fight, ultimately winning.

"It felt amazing," he said, referring to winning. "It felt really good."

Pfc. Vernon Jackson, 1st Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division Artillery, faced an uphill battle before even stepping into the ring with a 37.3-pound difference in weight to opponent Spc. Zechariah Medina, 2nd Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 1st ABCT, 1st Cav. Div. However, his background in mixed martial arts helped him snag the win.

"I made a decision before the fight," Jackson expressed. "It was either going to be him or me. I wasn't planning on taking one step backwards even with the weight disadvantage. I planned on walking through his chest and taking his best shot and giving him mine, and that's what I did."

Many enjoyed the event, like 2nd Lt. Patrick Fleming, 1st Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cav. Div.

"It was electric, to say the least," he expressed. "There were a lot of great fights. Everybody really gave their everything, and it just made for a very great environment. Everybody was motivated, and I couldn't have asked for more.

"The fact that all of these competitors have chosen to utilize their free time and give it back to not only something that they're passionate about, but something that would represent them and their entire team, I think that's extremely powerful," he added.

Fight Night brought a lot of unit camaraderie, Fleming said.

"We can rally around a single Soldier or leader that is not only fighting for themselves, but for their entire team," he said.

Col. Mark McClellan, U.S. Army Garrison-Fort Hood commander agreed, saying the event was a fantastic win for the installation.

"When I looked out at the crowd of more than 2,000 people at this event, I saw Soldiers and families having a great time, cheering for their favorite fighters and supporting their units," he said. "It was a huge installation-wide morale booster. I can't say enough about the Soldiers who stepped into the ring for this event either. Their enthusiasm, competitive spirit and athleticism really set the tone for the whole evening, but it was their good sportsmanship and the camaraderie they showed that impressed me the most."

Some of the winners from Fight Night: Return 2 The Ring will face off against winners from the June Fight Night event in Dec. 12 at the installation.

To whoever Jackson fights, he had one thing to say.

"Good luck," he concluded. "You're going to need it."