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TAEGU, South Korea — Army boxing cards in lower South Korea might take place four times a year under a plan being considered by recreation officials.

The proposition surfaced after the program put on two successful events this year, said Melvin Gaither, recreation director for the Army’s 20th Area Support Group at Camp Henry. The unit covers Area IV, the Army’s lower South Korea military district.

A nine-bout card on July 4 drew nearly 1,000 spectators to Camp Walker’s Kelly Fitness Center. A March 8 debut at Kelly gym was also well attended.

“I would like to have them here at least quarterly, four a year,” Gaither said.

A key step toward that goal will be making sure the Area IV cards don’t conflict with boxing events planned by the Army’s other three districts, Gaither added.

“For it to be a success, each area has to support the other area,” he said.

Construction on a new gym at Camp Carroll is set to end in October, and the two-story building should open in December, Kim Su-yop, the Camp Carroll Fitness Center’s sports specialist, said.

The new facility will essentially be twice as large as the Kelly gym.

“I personally would like to have Camp Carroll as the centralized area for our fights,” Gaither said, “especially after they open their new facility… Because their facility is more spacious… they would have more space to provide for our boxing program.”

Army Staff Sgt. Fareed Samad coaches about seven boxers at Camp Carroll. If scheduled properly, he says, quarterly matches in Area IV could expand the fighter pool across the peninsula.

“That would be good, four times, because we can actually go to other areas for boxing,” Samad said. “That would be real good.”

And Samad welcomed the prospect that Camp Carroll might become the area’s central venue.

“I think that’s good for boxing,” Samad said.

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