Army officer realizes dream with Garden boxing debut

The dream followed Steven Badgley throughout the course of his Army career from his role as an artilleryman during the 2003 invasion of Iraq back to America, where he became a chief warrant officer and learned how to pilot an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter. It followed him back to Iraq in 2008, where he built an open-air boxing ring in the sand at the U.S. air base in Kirkuk.

As he approached the age of 30, Badgley thought, "If I never fought pro, I think I'd always regret it."

After returning to Fort Drum in Watertown, N.Y., Badgley mentioned his dream to boxing historian Don Cogswell, who interviewed him while writing a book on boxing and the Army. "One day, I get an e-mail from Don Cogswell that says it looks like I can make my pro debut at Madison Square Garden if I want it," said Badgley, who did just that last night at the Theater at MSG.

Badgley scored a mysterious knockdown early in the first round when Gonzalez went down from a left to the body and appeared to twist his left ankle. But midway through the round, Gonzalez landed three lefts and a couple of combinations that sent Badgley down for an 8-count. When he got up, Gonzalez rushed in with two more lefts to score a technical knockout at 1:55.

Despite the outcome, Badgley's Garden debut was a tribute to his dedication to boxing. It took root at Fort Carson, Colo., after his first tour in Iraq and carried on at the Watertown Boxing Club, which donated boxing equipment to Badgley when he returned to Iraq.

"When I started the gym, it was just me," Badgley said. "It was out in the sand, no ceiling or anything. I would go and work out. After a couple months, there was one guy working with me, two guys. After a couple of my missions, I got back, and there were 20 to 30 guys waiting to work out. It was amazing.

"From there, we started having Wednesday night fights with three one-minute rounds. The military embraces the combative-type of environment. It was fun and brought up the morale."

Sometimes, Badgley served as the referee while higher-ranking officers were judges. They always had a medic present. The program became so popular that Badgley decided to go big-time. Working through the chain of command, he secured a USO stage ordinarily used for rock shows.

"We set up 12 fights and had almost 600 people show up to watch," Badgley said. "It was taped by the Pentagon Channel, and there were aircraft flyovers. It was a huge deal. Everybody had a blast."

As a family man, Badgley's first priority remains his military career. In the fall, he expects to ship out to Afghanistan for combat.

"Flying is fun and nerve-racking at the same time," Badgley said. "You have a huge scope of the battlefield. That's a bonus, but you're in the air and when something happens, it's very unexpected. We're confident in our abilities, so, we trust ourselves. But we know the risks."