Boxing evening at the NATO SHAPE

During the event, 22 boxers from altogether seven NATO Allies – Belgium, the United States, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Luxembourg and Germany – competed with each other. The SHAPE audience showed serious interest in the tournament. Already a week before the event, the number of registered spectators reached the maximum accommodating capacity of the venue, which finally resulted in a packed house in the sports hall of the SHAPE Headquarters.

Chief of Staff SHAPE General Markus Laubenthal opened the sporting event. He called the sporting event unique and thanked the Hungarian soldiers and civilians for their voluntary contribution to the organization and implementation of the competition. The chief of staff praised the boxers, too, who, as he put it, entered the ring in the spirit of respect, discipline and uniformity, representing the values that connect the NATO community.

Major General László Sticz, Hungary’s National Military Representative at SHAPE and the chief organizer of the event emphasized that one of the designated aims of the sporting event was to establish a tradition at SHAPE, strengthening relations among allied nations in the spirit of fair play and camaraderie. “This event, therefore, was not only about victory, but also about our shared values, the friendly relationships among allied nations and the boxers’ entering the competition with pride in being able to represent their own nations in the ring” – said the major general. The national military representative added that the Hungarian Defence Forces were a designated sponsor of the event, as according to their organizational principles, combat sports play an important role in the physical and mental preparation of the personnel both in Hungary and missions abroad.

The official chief patron of the boxing gala was a legendary figure of Hungarian boxing, István “Kokó” Kovács, European, World and Olympic Champion Boxer, President of the Hungarian Boxing Association, who said that military thinking fits well with boxing. The former top boxer expressed his hope that the organizers have established a successful, long series of events with this year’s competition in Mons.

Five out of the 22 entrants of the boxing competition were Hungarians, among them one female boxer. The Hungarian team was reinforced by Miklós Lelesz, who is serving at SHAPE, while the others are from the Sports Company of the Hungarian Defence Forces. Márk Balogh, Péter Bárányi and Rafael Búza have debuted with victories against well-trained Belgian boxer opponents in Mons. Vivien Budai has given a decent performance against Dutch Chelsey Heijnen, bronze medalist of the IBA Women’s World Boxing Championships in Istanbul. To sum up, we can say that all 22 boxers fought with all their might, and the referees from Hungary took care of the competitors’ physical integrity in the ring. Besides the matches of high professional standards, the venue offered professional lighting, sound technology and spectacular stage technology to ensure the audience an unforgettable experience.