The Colchester-based paratroopers defeated 4th Battalion The Rifles by a thumping majority of eight bouts to one in the quarter-final of the Army Major Units Boxing Championship. A vocal crowd at Tuesday’s (10 Feb) contest, held at the Budd VC Gymnasium, saw 3 PARA’s boxers chalk up four knockouts in their eight victories.

3 PARA has a proud tradition of success in the ring, having won the Army boxing title each time it has taken part since 2003. The unit did not compete in 2006, 2008 or 2011 because it was deployed in Afghanistan and in 2014 due to training commitments. The boxers are all soldiers first and trained to deploy as part of the Air Assault Task Force (AATF), which is maintained by 16 Air Assault Brigade to be ready for operations anywhere in the world at short notice.