SUBMITTED
It’s been a busy recent stretch for the Cranbrook Eagles Boxing club.
After a week of training at the Boxing BC Development Camp under coaches Bill Watson (Cranbrook) and Jesse Pinierro (Nelson), five local fighters headed south as part of Team BC to Kellogg, Idaho’s annual “Fights on the Mountain” event.
The competition takes place on top of the Silver Mountain ski resort, a 3.1 mile ride up a gondola, where a ring is set up. The outdoor event has been a successful fight card for the past three years.
Two hungry local fighters ‘Drillin’ Dylan Muhlig and Nike Blackmore were left without a chance to compete after their weigh-ins, as their opponents failed to show up at the event.
Three more locals, however, did get the chance to box outdoors for the first time.
Connor Ferrier, 70 lbs, came out swinging as did his opponent Stryder from Nelson, BC. After losing the first round, the second round slugfest continued as both boxers returned to their corners with what looked like an even match up.
In round three, the non-stop punching continued and afterward the Nelson boxer’s hand was raised in a very close split decision victory.
The big bro from the ‘Battlin Bros’, Payton Muhlig, 108 lb, then took on a very tough boxer from Portland, Oregon. Muhlig stuck to the fight plan and took early control over his opponent. Through rounds two and three, Muhlig used good footwork and flashy combinations to win a unanimous decision.
Cranbrook’s most experienced boxer, 16-year-old ‘Dynamite’ Dylan Clark, 147 lbs, then returned to the ring for the first time after a year off and took on Jamari Etherly from Portland.
Clark dominated early in the fight over his less experienced opponent. However, the southpaw Etherly did not give up and refused to back down from the hard right hands delivered by Clark.
At the bell both exhausted fighters hugged in sportsmanship and the referee raised Clark’s hand in a unanimous decision, with Clarke improving his record to nine wins and four losses.
Cranbrook Eagles boxers return to regular training in early September and could be back in the ring later that month.