Boxers preach protection for battle at Naval Academy

Boxers are taught to keep their hands up to protect themselves from an unsuspected punch.

Tomorrow it will be imperative the Penn State boxing team keeps its guard up when it travels to the combative confines of the defending national champion U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., to compete in the U.S. Naval Academy Invitational. Army and The Citadel, two cadet schools, will be at the tournament along with three other schools from Pennsylvania -- Lock Haven, Mansfield and Shippensburg.

"We've had a lot of fellas get hurt for the simple reason of having their hands down," said Penn State Boxing Coach Bill Wrable.

Penn State will send six boxers to the seven-team tournament. Sophomore Jesse Bond will fight in the 185-pound class. Freshman Doug Bayly will battle in the 147-pound division. Also scheduled to fight are juniors James Cammarota and Dave Smythe in the 165-pound division.

Rounding out Penn State's card are freshmen Glenn Miller and Justin Punshon, both fighting in the 175-pound class.

Punshon will undergo a major transition, as this weekend's fight will be his collegiate boxing debut. The inexperienced fighter feels confident but understands the importance of his first match.

"It's going to set the tone for how all my other fights are going to be like," Punshon said. "The first fight is always a big one."

The freshman believes Wrable has prepared him sufficiently in the mental aspects of boxing but knows the physical nature of the sport is best learned in the ring.

"He's prepared me as much as I can be," Punshon said. "The mental preparation is the biggest thing, knowing that I'm going up against a guy more experienced than me. The best way to learn is to fight as much as you can. I'm just gonna go in and give it everything I got."

Punshon isn't the only Penn State boxer being asked to elevate his skills. Bond will slug it out with All-American Tony Penecale of Lock Haven. Wrable is certain Bond is ready for the tremendous challenge.

"Jesse will take a big step up," Wrable said. "He's boxing a guy who's been to nationals a few times, but he's capable of doing well. This is the time of year you want to test him before regionals."

Bond is approaching this match as if it were any other, a tactic he utilizes in practice.

"We work each other hard in practice and treat it as a regular tournament," Bond said. "I have no doubt I'm prepared physically. It doesn't matter if he's the best or the worst, I'm going in there to do a job."

Bond intends to focus on fundamentals to take the pressure of fighting an All-American off his mind.

"I'll relax and concentrate on what we've been doing in practice," he said. "The only pressure is the pressure I put on myself."

With the Northeast Regional Tournament only a month away, Penn State hopes to use tomorrow's matches as a measuring stick to see where it currently stands and how much improvement it needs to prepare for regionals.

"Hopefully this shows us where we're at," Bond said, "and how far we have to go."