See more photos from the Battle of the Badges here.
By Moses Leos III
Smoke billowed from a makeshift doorway while rock music blared in the Austin Convention Center Friday as Kyle Police Department officer Matthew Wilson walked down a runway.
After six months of training, Wilson was taking a bold step few others have taken before.
But what he trained for wasn’t to use a new weapon, or a new tactic related to his job. His training was done to prepare for the rigors of three rounds of boxing in the 2016 Battle of the Badges event.
For Wilson, the ability to not only represent Kyle Police, but also fight for a worthy cause, was meaningful.
“It means a lot, as I’m the only person that came down [to participate] from Kyle,” Wilson said. “It meant a lot to come down here and show them what we’ve got.”
The Battle of the Badges, hosted by the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, is a sanctioned boxing event that pits Austin area law enforcement officers against members of area fire departments.
Proceeds from the event went to area non-profit Partnerships for Children, which provides Child Protective Services (CPS) caseworkers with resources needed to assist children in the community.
For Hays County Sheriff’s deputy Manuel De La Rosa, who also participated in the event, the cause was one that hit close to home.
De La Rosa said he previously worked as a detective investigating crimes against children. He said the experience “hurt me. Hurt me bad.”
“Doing this, no matter what happened, it helps me,” De La Rosa said. “It helps kids get through what they’re going to go through.”
De La Rosa’s experience with the Battle of Badges began when he attended the 2015 event. He was so impressed with what he saw that he inquired about possibly competing in the event, despite the fact De La Rosa had no previous boxing experience.
“I told them, ‘hey, if you need someone to box, let me know,’” De La Rosa said. “And so here I am. They remembered me.”
He began his training in Austin, which allowed him to “get in better shape.”
All of the training culminated in his fight against Austin firefighter Ryan Whitton. But a few quick and successful punches from Whitton brought the fight to a speedy end.
“He caught me with a good right hook. Right on the button,” De La Rosa said. “I was standing up, but I was somewhere else.”
Despite the loss, De La Rosa cherished his ability to experience life in the ring. It’s something he believes he could try again in the future.
“Although it didn’t show in the ring, physically, I lost 20 pounds,” De La Rosa said. “I’m in better health now.”
Much like De La Rosa, Wilson also had not boxed before. But his desire to try something new drove him to sign up and begin his quest to square off in the ring.
Over six months, Wilson conducted his training by sparring and going through other regimens. He prepared himself for his bout against firefighter Grady Fowles.
But it was clear early in the first round that their fight was going to be a knockdown, dragout affair. A quick flurry of punches from Fowles rendered Wilson’s nose bloody.
But Wilson responded by fighting back in the latter two rounds. Wilson said he listened to his fight coach, who told him to step left, which paid dividends.
“I was trying to stop getting hit in the face,” Wilson said. “I don’t mind getting hit anywhere else, but getting hit in the face is annoying.”
But as the fight wore on, blood continued to pour from Wilson’s nose. It led to the fight doctor halting the bout on two occasions to check on the bleeding.
“I was a little mad because my nose was bleeding and they kept stopping (the fight),” Wilson said. “But I’m an easy bleeder, so I kept going … it was fun.”
Both pugilists went toe-to-toe in the final round, trading punches and blows, much to the approval of the crowd. Wilson said he fed off their energy as the bout closed.
While Wilson fell in a split decision, he was excited to have participated in the event.
“I’d like to try and keep doing it, but my girlfriend isn’t too fond of that idea,” he said. “We’ll see what happens.”
