Fight fans across the Cariboo will be crossing the Moffat Bridge in droves this Saturday (April 7) to see some of the finest amateur fisticuffs on offer in the province.
2 Rivers Boxing Club is hosting Rumble 24 at its gym on Malcolm Drive.
Fights start at 7 p.m. and the club’s owner, Wally Doern, is recommending that anyone interested in dropping by come early.
“We usually fill it up,” he says.
“It’s limited seating in here only. I sell tickets beforehand, so if you come to the door late, you take a chance of missing out.”
The card’s main event will see 2 Rivers’ own Evan Peever matching up against Andrew Michael, a fighter out of Lillooet. The fight will be contested at 170 lbs and is expected to be an exciting, action-packed match-up.
Another bout that Doern believes could have easily been the main event is Harley Mulvihill, who is fighting out of Williams Lake, taking on Rhett Gibbons, who is travelling all the way from Vancouver. This will be an open-weight fight taking place over three three-minute rounds.
Local fighter Kelly Gerk, who is no stranger to the Rumble fight series, will be moving up a weight class to 160 lbs in order to challenge Clarence Gamache from Prince George.
“It’ll be a tough fight for Kelly because Clarence has more fights and is pretty experienced,” says coach Doern.
“But if Kelly is on his game plan, he will do quite well.”
In order to combat Gamache’s height and reach, Gerk has been working a lot on head movement, so he can feint his way past the taller fighter’s punches and do damage to the body inside.
Several other fights will be on the card, including an exhibition match between two of Doern’s, “little superstars,” Britynn “Hurricane” Carter and “Iron” Emmett Emblau.
The 12-year-olds, who often travel to the United States to get matches, spar with each other often, so are both looking forward to showcasing their skills in front of the crowd.
Carter, who is coming off a belt-winning bout in Idaho, has only been training with the club for 11 months.
For the victory, she had to utilize careful strategy.
“She was a head hunter, so she only went for my head really,” she says.
“So I got down and went to the body and then the head.”
Less than a year into training, Carter is already in love with the competitive aspect of boxing and is always eager to get in the ring.
“At first, I feel sort of nervous but once I’m in, everything blacks out and it’s just me and my opponent.”
Emblau is significantly more experienced, with 20 fights under his belt.
He recently came up short in his last fight in Seattle but isn’t disheartened, knowing that he just needs to get back in the gym and work on his footwork for the next match.
Known as a crafty fighter, Emblau has many tricks up his sleeve, but one ranks among the top.
“There’s lots of combinations I like, but my favourite is probably a 1, 2 – slip – come up with the right hook,” he says.
Doern, who originally started the Nazko Boxing Club before moving to Quesnel, has been training fighters for around 30 years.
He welcomes all to come try a class at no-charge and believes the benefits of learning the sport are plentiful.
“[You gain] self-confidence and have something to be focused on.”
He adds that in order to be successful, you have to have a good lifestyle with clean living.
“You learn to take good care of yourself and a lot about the respect and sportsmanship in boxing.”
