Fighters are feeling good about their chances a week out from Rumble at the Rink 2.
The professional boxing card Friday (May 13) at Nanaimo's Frank Crane Arena will feature six fights and though there is all kinds of international flavour, one of the best bouts could be an all-B.C. matchup.
Ladner's (Dyna) Mike Dowsett (1-1-1) will face Kamloops' Ken (Heavy Hands) Huber (1-0) in what is expected to be an evenly matched contest.
Dowsett, who is getting ready for his first pro fight in years, said training is going really well and he's feeling great.
"I was actually feeling like I was ready a couple weeks ago," Dowsett said.
He likes the matchup against Huber.
"He's been busy, he's got that to his advantage, for sure. I've had five years off, but I've been boxing a lot longer than him. I feel like I've got the experience over him."
Dowsett will also have the edge in size, too.
"He's big and strong and his power is definitely something that we've trained for, but he's not a real technical boxer," Huber said.
Dowsett said he has a habit of banging and brawling in the ring.
"I actually have the skill to box, it's just once I'm in there, if a guy starts trying to slug it out with me, I have a tendency to get caught up in that and slug back," he said.
Dowsett wants to try to control the middle of the ring, while Huber has been concentrating on a counterattack – making his opponent miss, then pay for missing.
"I'm going to come out and I'm going to bring heavy hands and I'm going to prove why they call me Heavy Hands," Huber said. "Even though I'm a light heavyweight, I plan on stopping this heavyweight."
Dowsett has been knocked down, but never knocked out, he said, and isn't convinced of his opponent's power.
"He calls himself Heavy Hands, but I don't really know of many people that he's actually knocked out."
Dowsett said Huber wears out the heels of his boxing shoes, "so I've started calling him Ken Heavy Foot Huber."
Huber said his feet "will stay planted firmly on the ground," and had a response to Dowsett's comments.
"They call him Dyna Mike? Well, Dyna Mike done picked a fight and he done picked the wrong fight."
So the boxers are looking forward to settling their differences, but most of all, they anticipate the competition and the atmosphere of another fight night.
"For sure, man, that's the itch; that's why you keep coming back, is for that rush," Dowsett said. "There's nothing that can compare to that. I've tried jumping out of airplanes; I've tried all kinds of [stuff] to try to get that rush and you just can't. Being on that stage, all eyes on you, is something else."
The main event of Friday's card pits Dashon (Flyboy) Johnson (19-19-3) of Escondido, Calif. against Victor Manuel Palacios (13-11-2) of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Tickets cost $20 for general admission, $60 for floor seats and $100 for ringside and will be available at the door or in advance at www.gloved-up.com.
sports@nanaimobulletin.com
Boxers trade shots leading up to Rumble event in Nanaimo… https://t.co/7dxnj0zOiz #Nanaimo #boxing pic.twitter.com/8zSZI55o7Z
— Greg Sakaki (@BulletinSports) May 8, 2016