The fists were flying in Forest Grove, and for the occasion, Grandma Huber baked cookies.
After all, Marg’s grandson, Ken “Heavy Hands” Huber, the current World Boxing Council (WBC) Canadian Cruiserweight Champion, came home.
The amateur boxer put on a skillful demonstration for fans, friends and family at the Forest Grove Legion on Aug. 30. He also posed for pictures and signed autographs while fundraising for an upcoming trip to Mississauga, Ont., where his national title is on the line in October.
The hometown visit meant a lot to Huber, 30, who fights out of Kamloops now but grew up in the 100 Mile House area. He also holds a Western Canadian and provincial title.
When he first started boxing about 10 years ago, he never envisioned a rung this high, or a scene quite like this one.
“I’m almost overwhelmed to see this kind of support. It’s huge. It’s nice to come back to your hometown and see people support you, and people love you, and people believe in what you’re doing.
“It’s very humbling,” Huber adds. “It makes you feel like you’re doing the right thing.”
The upcoming WBC-sanctioned tournament is basically an east-meets-west showdown. Ontario fighters match-up against those from Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia. The original locale was a casino in Niagara Falls, Ont., but the card was moved to a convention centre in Mississauga, just west of Toronto.
Huber is one of four cruiserweights expected to be there. He’s potentially looking at a rematch with London, Ont.-boxer Renie Placid, whom Huber beat last year to first attain his WBC title.
Other than Placid, Huber doesn’t know anything about any other fighters.
“I really am blind to what I’m going into,” he says. “I try to keep my mind open. Our training is very broad. From southpaw to orthodox, short, fast, slow, power-punchers – we try to prepare for anything and everything.”
Huber last fought in May, when he defended his B.C. Combative Sports Association title with a split-decision victory over Victoria-boxer Bryan Colwell.
The champ, as he’s known to do, started slow in that fight. Colwell boxed well early on and won the first two rounds. Huber finished stronger and landed harder shots. The fight was close and it could have went either way.
Huber isn’t planning on giving up any early rounds in Mississauga.
“From bell one to bell five, we’re going 100 per cent – [throwing] five, six, seven, eight-punch combinations. Normally, I’m throwing two or three punches and I’m stepping to the side and looking for what’s coming. This time we’re bringing the pressure.”
Huber, a father of three, turns 31 right before the Oct. 17-18 bouts.
He wants to fight professionally after he defends his amateur title. But his boxing career is limited to the next five years, he believes, and after that he sees himself focusing more on running his boxing gym – the Kamloops Boxing Academy – and mentoring young and up-and-coming pugilists.
The sport of boxing is built on stories of redemption, and Huber’s is one of them. A former heavy drug-user, the soft-spoken fighter found in boxing structure and something greater to strive for. He trains hard and eats right and he’s a champion. He wants to offer that to somebody else.
“There’s more to life than partying and hanging out with your buddies, and dreaming and talking about what you could be doing – as opposed to just getting out and getting it,” he says. “When you achieve that goal, something changes inside of you, and you know you’re worth it. If I can get one person to do what I did with my life, I’ll feel satisfied. ”
In Forest Grove, Marg watched her grandson blast away at the hand pads, putting on a fun and exciting show for the crowd. At one point, she even had the gloves on herself and posed for pictures, a big smile on her face.
Watching Huber now takes her back to when he was younger.
“He wasn’t too much of a scrapper,” she remembers. “He was a pretty good kid.”
She’s never seen Huber fight, and she doesn’t think she wants to.
Still, she’s moved by his accomplishments.
“I’m so proud of him. Very, very proud of him.”
