A pair of boxers from the host MadKatz Boxing Club took to the ring Saturday in Rutland for the inaugural WBC Western Canadian amateur championships.
Included on the 11-bout card inside a jam-packed Centennial Hall was Aaron McKittrick, 25, who remained undefeated in his amateur career.
McKittrick took care of business against Fernie’s Sam Skiffington in a super middleweight tilt in front of some 350 enthused fans.
“Aaron did great job, we see great things ahead for that kid,” said MadKatz owner and coach Geoff Lawrence.
Kelowna’s Matthew Breland, 15, stepped in against Harkerat Nijjar of Surrey and, despite a gutsy effort by the MadKatz member, came up on the losing end.
“(Matthew) fought with incredible heart and I was really amazed at how he brought the fight to his opponent,” Lawrence said. “He has tons of potential.”
A third MadKatz fighter, Danny Buckley, was on the card but had his fight cancelled.
The main event saw Vancouver’s Adam Querido earn a unanimous five-round decision over Fernie’s Bob Larsen. The victory earns Querido a trip to the WBC nationals in Ontario this October.
In another key bout, Ken Huber of the Kamloops Boxing Academy evened the score with one of this rivals, defeating IMMA’s Brian Caldwell.
“It’s a good battle between those two, they’re now 1-1,” Lawrence said.
As for his overall impression of the inaugural WBC event, Lawrence couldn’t have been much happier.
“We had a great crowd and they really seemed to enjoy it, even people who weren’t boxing fans,” said Lawrence. “We had a couple of bouts that were a little lopsided, but other than that we had amazing, super competitive fights throughout the night.”
Lawrence expects the second WBC Western Canadian event to head east next year, possibly to Saskatchewan.
As far as the MadKatz Club is concerned, the next event for Kelowna is set for Sept. 6 at Centennial Hall, a card that could feature local fighter Aaron McKittrick.
MadKatz has hosted seven shows in West Kelowna and Kelowna since setting up shop in 2011.
