NEW YORK (October 13, 2026) — Olympic heavyweight champion “Merciless” Ray Mercer and former world champion “Irish” Micky Ward, whose career inspired the film The Fighter, will be ringside on Saturday, November 14, as cadets and midshipmen from six service academies and senior military colleges meet at the inaugural NYC Collegiate Military Boxing Classic.
Proudly presented by USAA in association with Caracal Products & Services, the Veterans Week card at the Léman Ballroom in Lower Manhattan features 12 USA Boxing–sanctioned bouts between VMI, West Point, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and The Citadel, on live pay-per-view. Net proceeds return to the schools’ boxing programs. Mercer’s appearance is presented by Parkhurst Dining, and Ward’s appearance is presented by McCartney Stucky LLC.
An Army infantryman in West Germany, Mercer took up boxing in 1984 to get out of a 30-day field exercise. Four years later he won Olympic gold in Seoul by knocking out all four opponents, the only American heavyweight champion to do it.
“I was 23 when I first put on a pair of gloves, and I knew how serious it was, so I took it seriously, and I went for it,” Mercer said. “But I didn’t do it alone. My fellow soldiers took up my slack, and the whole team got behind me. Without the military, I don’t even know if I’d be talking to you right now.”
Ward walked away from boxing in 1991 to pave roads in Lowell, Massachusetts. He returned three years later, won a world title and fought in three straight Ring magazine Fights of the Year.
“I have uncles in the military and the Navy, so it hits home for me,” Ward said. “Boxing is a very disciplined sport, and these cadets are already disciplined from being in the service. Go in there, give it all you have, and leave everything out there.”
“We are proud to feed the cadets on post at VMI every day, so we know how much responsibility they take on beyond the classroom,” said Mark Broadhurst, President and family owner of Parkhurst Dining. “Ray Mercer’s story is about a soldier who found a team that had his back. We’re proud to bring him to New York to stand behind these cadets and the programs that train them for excellence and honor.”
“We are trial lawyers so our work is preparing for the fight in front of us and seeing it through,” said Terry McCartney ’86, one of the founding partners of McCartney Stucky. “I boxed at VMI from 1983-86 and that experience transformed me. While in the Marine Corps, I taught boxing to my Marines and I have been running a youth boxing program in Rye, NY for the past 21 years to pass on the incredible life lessons of the sport of boxing to the next generation. These cadets and midshipmen work hard in the gym every day on top of everything else their schools and services ask of them. Bringing the great Micky Ward to New York as an example of courage, discipline and toughness will inspire the boxers from these six excellent programs and was an easy decision for our firm.”
Event details
When Saturday, November 14, 2026 · Doors 5:00 p.m. · First bout 7:00 p.m.
Where Léman Ballroom, 41 Broad Street, New York, NY
Tickets General Admission $200 · Preferred $300 · nycmilitaryboxing.com/tickets
About the Author
