By Ben Krimmel
Jamel “Semper Fi” Herring had time to let out just
one "Oorah!" during his post-fight interview before the
jubilation had to momentarily stop. That's because Herring's friends, family,
and several exuberant U.S. Marines who joined the celebration had broken the
ring.
In front of a sold-out crowd at the Osceola Heritage Park
in Kissimmee, Fla. on May 25, with many active and reserve Marines in
attendance, Herring, a former Marine, scored a stunning upset of Japan's
Masayuki Ito to become the WBO junior lightweight champion. With the
unanimous decision win (118-110, 118-110, and 116-112) he improved to 20-2
in his professional career.
"I always believed I could win a world title,"
Herring said. "This is a dream come true, and to do this on Memorial
Day weekend makes it even sweeter.”
After Herring enlisted in the Marines in October 2003, he
served two tours of duty during Operation Iraqi Freedom with his first tour in
Fallujah and his second in Al Taqaddum. Herring was stationed in Camp
Lejeune and earned the rank of Sergeant during his nine years of service.
Herring, who grew up in the small Long Island town
of Coram, NY, was 15 on Sept. 11, 2001. The impact of that event
contributed to his decision to serve.
“I had friends who had relatives that were in those
buildings, so it impacted me hard,” Herring told TeamUSA.org. “I knew I wanted
to do something with my life, so then I decided to join the Marines.”
During his time in the Corps, Herring trained with
the All Marine Corps boxing team, won the Armed Forces tournament in
2011 and earned a spot to compete at the 2012 London Olympics. He became
the first active duty U.S. Marine to qualify for the U.S. boxing team since
1992.
Herring's Memorial Day weekend win came after years of sacrifice, struggles, and tragedy.
He started drinking heavily and having mood swings.
Eventually, his family assisted him in seeking help. "I was actually
afraid," Herring told ESPN. "I didn't know how I would be looked
at."
Herring was diagnosed with PTSD. There was no overnight
cure for him, but months of work with doctors and counselors at the VA.
"I'm actually now getting to where I want to be at, where I dreamed,"
Herring told ESPN before the fight.
Saturday night, was the culmination: World Champion.
