WILLIAMSBURG — A Portsmouth Navy veteran is reviving a military boxing tradition that disappeared decades ago, bringing it to Williamsburg in December for what could be the biggest military sporting event Hampton Roads has seen in years.
Mike Duzant, a former all-military boxing champion, is working with Brikhouse Boxing to organize the event at the Greater Williamsburg Sports and Event Center. It will pit West Point cadets against Naval Academy midshipmen.
"Actually, in 1985 I was the all-military champion. Which for a Navy guy that was a pretty big thing when you talk about the Army and the Marines. And it stopped; funding has stopped, I don't know what happened in Washington," Duzant said.
Duzant has deep boxing roots, including sparring with legendary fighters.
"Sweetpea Whitaker, it gets no better than that. I sparred 1000 rounds with him," Duzant said.
For Duzant, the event is about more than competition.
"They're the leaders of tomorrow. These are our soldiers, our sailors. So I said, let me try to put something together with boxing," Duzant said.
The event will also have a global reach, extending well beyond Williamsburg.
"It's going to be streamed to almost every military base in the world," Duzant said.
Duzant said the event holds deep personal meaning and reflects the region's strong military heritage.
"To me that's my greatest achievement," Duzant said.
"It's more of a community thing than anything else," Duzant said.
The complete fight card is expected to be released in the upcoming weeks.
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