A trio of Two Rivers Boxers travelled to Vernon to represent the province in a tournament pitting B.C. against Alberta.
Dan Mott, 22, beat Jake Stochberry in what coach Matt Tessier called a beautiful, technical fight.
There was some confusion with who would be Mott’s opponent and what weight class he would fight in, leaving Mott scrambling to make weight for the lighter, middle weight fight.
Mott was back in the ring after over a year off and he was happy to be there.
“It was great,” he said.
Stochberry came out early in the fight, pushing Mott, who was taking it slower, a little off guard. But a solid hit from Mott, changed Stuckberry’s game plan.
“As soon as I hit him, he didn’t want to be hit anymore,” Mott said.
With Mott controlling the pace, he picked Stuckberry apart through the three rounds.
Mott dropped him in the second round, earning Stuckberry a standing eight count and rocked him in the third, earning him another standing eight count 10 seconds before the bout ended, leaving Mott unable to lay him out, but firmly in control of the match and the victor by unanimous decision.
“He came in methodical, slow – he picked his opponent apart,” Matt Tessier said.
Olin Lee, 14, fought a pair of matches, first an exhibition against a neophyte, then a competitive match against Ramze Abduraheman, which he dominated.
“He was definitely better than his opponent. Olin’s a hell of a good boxer; he’s got a lot of promise,” Matt Tessier said.
“The guy was very over matched.”
Lee was in control for the duration of the first round and finished his opponent off in the second.
“He was fighting well, but I kind of knocked him out on his feet and after that he wasn’t fighting the same,” Lee said.
Soon after, the opposing coach threw in the towel, giving Lee the win.
Kyle Tessier, 16, fought in the main event Saturday, March 23 against a 19 year old Adam Woods., losing in a split decision after three rounds.
“It was a brawl,” Matt Tessier said.
“They both went toe-to-toe for three straight rounds.”
From the moment Kyle stepped in the ring, he went for broke and Woods responded in kind.
“I threw everything I had pretty much,” Kyle said.
Kyle kept on throwing it through the second, but got tripped up towards the end of the second and fell, earning him an eight count, which messed with his head, allowing Woods to come back.
In the third, Kyle was losing steam after two rounds of brawling, which allowed Woods to control more of the fight and take the victory.
Despite the loss, Kyle was happy with his bout.
“It was good,” Kyle said.
“Even though I lost the fight, it’s not that important to me right now because it was such a good fight.”
Haven Gillmaier,17, also went but they were unable to get a match for him as fighters dropped out at the last minute.
The tournament also offered a chance for the club to make some connections, which it sorely needs, to bring more clubs to their shows.
“We had a lot of gym’s that will come to our shows, they said,” Matt Tessier said.
The club is off for a month to give the boxers a rest but they looking forward to a couple more trip south to shows before the end of the season.