Two young Quesnel boxers were ideal ice-breakers for the Teofista Boxing Unfinished Business event at the Cariboo Memorial Complex in Williams Lake on June 2.
As first bout of the night, they drew roars from the 800-plus in attendance.
Caleb Tetreault and Rylan Maurice, both nine years old at the time of the match, represented Quesnel’s 2 River Boxing Club.
They fought a fun box, or exhibition fight.
James Mott, who coached Maurice on the evening, was amazed at the poise the young fighters showed in front of such a big crowd.
“My hat’s off to them,” he says.
“When I am getting ready to get up there I’m all nervous and tense but to them it’s just fun.”
Tetreault says he was thinking of the regular sparring he does in the gym.
“I was just zoning the audience out,” he says.
“So it was just me and my opponent.”
Cameron Tetreault has coached all of his son’s bouts and sees constant improvement.
“He went in their very mentally prepared and showed that he can put on a good match,” he says.
“I had many people come up and comment on how well they did for an amateur fight.”
Both Tetreault and Maurice train three nights a week at 2 Rivers boxing club under the tutelage of Mott, Tetreault and the club’s owner, Wally Doern.
Sessions can last from two to two-and-a-half hours, where the competitors warm up, hit the bags, spar and fine tune on the focus mitts.
While Tetreault has six fights to his name, Maurice now has 10.
He was particularly pleased with one combination that he was able to land.
“I hit him with a jab, cross and then a hook and an uppercut with the same hand,” he says.
“But I’m not going to ever do that again as I always change it up, so the other fighter doesn’t know what I’m doing.”
sports@quesnelobserver.com
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