The Nanaimo Boxing Club’s future looks bright as two youths were winners earlier this month.
Gabby Sanderson, 11, and Jerome Leroyer, 14, were winners at a card Feb. 18 hosted by North Vancouver’s Griffins Boxing and Fitness club.
For Sanderson, it was her first fight, and she was ready. She gave her opponent a bloody nose and although it was an exhibition contest with no winner, her coach felt like she got the best of the bout.
“She fought a little girl that had already had, I think, nine fights,” said Barry Creswell, Nanaimo Boxing Club coach. “Gabby showed that she belonged in there at that level already and even outclassed her opponent. She’s a natural little fighter … She showed lots of promise.”
Leroyer had to come back to win his fight after dropping the first two rounds and it was like something out of a Rocky movie, Creswell said. The Nanaimo boxer forced three standing eight-counts on his opponent for a TKO victory.
“He came back in the third round and totally dominated that last round … It was so inspirational,” the coach said. “[Sometimes] guys don’t think they can win that third round and give up. He never gave up.”
Creswell said the club’s youth program is going very well of late and he hopes more young athletes will give the sport a try. It’s safe, he said; sparring is done under close supervision and athletes have to master a jab, for example, before they’re allowed to attempt harder punches.
“We match them up with people that have the same ability and we watch it very closely,” he said. “They have fun and learn lots, quick.”
The Nanaimo Boxing Club is located on Willgress Road. For information, please visit www.nanaimoboxing.net or call 250-758-4881.