Army Inter Unit Boxing Finals: Who will take the team title?
The Army Inter Unit Boxing Finals promises an exciting night of bouts with the best boxers within the British Army set to take to the ring in Aldershot.
A sport with a long and deep tradition within the Army, the Inter Unit Boxing Finals has long been dominated by the 3rd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment, who won their 10th title last year.
This year, however, it'll be the 2nd Battalion, the Parachute Regiment who will take on the 1st Battalion, the Royal Anglian Regiment, who made it to the finals for the first time in their history.
1 Royal Anglians, also known as the Vikings, made it to the finals for the first time after they won their semi-final against 1 Lancs in Cyprus.
The Cyprus-based regiment's boxing team is only 18 months old, and the last time they faced 2 PARA, they were knocked out in last year's semi-final.
For the Vikings, this year's championships means more than just bringing the trophy back to Cyprus, they will also be wearing pink t-shirts to raise funds for the daughter of a former Viking, so his daughter can undergo clinical trials for a brain tumour.
For 2 PARA, they will be looking to replicate the night of the 2018 Army Inter Unit Boxing Finals where they were crowned the champions.
Lance Corporal Tony Jones is the only returning boxer from that 2018 winning team, he won his 81kg bout in the 2018 final to secure the title against 3 RIFLES.
After taking time away to focus on his military career, he will be returning to box at 92kg, and his bout with 1 Royal Anglian's Danny Call will certainly be one to watch.
The night of action will be broadcast on the Forces News YouTube Channel on 27 April with a 19:00 start time while serving personnel can watch on catch-up via BFBS TV.
Find out more on how you can watch here.
Did you know?
The Army Boxing Association hosts two competitions annually.
The Inter Unit Championships is a team competition that has been running for more than 100 years.
Steeped in history, units compete in matches on a knock-out format.
The second is the Army Inter Corps Competition which is run in a tournament format over the course of a week in early June.
Jon Knighton, Sports Editor, BFBS Sport, says:
Thursday's Army team final is another outstanding highlight of the military sporting calendar.
2 PARA and 3 PARA between them have a sensational recent record in Army boxing. They met each other in the 2013 final, but now they compete in alternate years. 2 PARA alone have reached six finals since 2006 and only missed out in 2020 because of Covid. They have one boxer in their ranks from the successful 2018 title win.
He's Geordie, Lance Corporal Tony Jones, who was asked by his head coach Sergeant Dan Holmes if he would come back into the squad to add a bit of extra experience. There was no hesitation!
His match up at 92 kilos with Danny Call of 1 Royal Anglian will be one to look forward to. In 2018, it was Jones who secured 2 PARA's title, could that bout be the title decider again?
The Vikings, despite having only been together as a team for 18 months, have shown themselves a formidable and talented boxing unit. Their win against 1 LANCS in the all-Cyprus semi-final in Episkopi, was a huge night for the men.
In the final contest, which could have gone either way, it was their super heavyweight Barry Diggins, who came out on top. He only started boxing in February last year and says it is a great honour to represent his battalion. As you would expect, both teams are confident they can achieve a win.
For the Vikings, in their first team final, taking the trophy back to Cyprus would be a massive achievement. 2 PARA expect to win every single bout they enter. Only once, in 2016 have they failed to win an Army Championship and they do not want that to happen again.
It promises to be another brilliant night of Army boxing with an unrivalled atmosphere.
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