Young boxers made the crowd shake with excitement at 'Rumble at the Knox' in Fernie on Mar. 8, as they faced off in ring with tenacity and determination.
Boxers from Western Canada convened at the event for nine bouts of fighting that count towards their record on the path to provincials.
The Rumble was held at Fernie's historic Knox United Church for the very first time, due to the closure of the Fernie Community Centre. The dim overhead lighting that bounced off the stained glass windows cast a dramatic shadow on the ring.
Hosted by Fernie Old School Boxing Club, the event served as a prequel to the larger and more popular Judgement Night in May.
Fernie's Luther Sawatzky had a victory against Sonny Beck from Cougar Boxing Club in Edmonton by unanimous decision.
Sawatzky, 14, has won five of his six matches so far, that all count towards his record on the road to provincials.
"I think this is going to be the deciding year. I'm willing to put in the work, but I've got to see if I've got potential first," said Sawatzky, as he referenced his goal to reach a higher level of competition.
Sawatzky has been boxing on and off for five years He trains in Cranbrook a few times per week with skipping, shadow-boxing and bag-work.
"All this training is good for me and I feel like I'm progressing," he said.
Fernie's Arlo Jamin made his fighting debut at the Rumble. He fought hard in the ring, but was overpowered by Marco Ramos from Penticton's Tondo Boxing Club after Ramos threw a series of quick side-punches and cornered him against the net.
Jamin, 16, started boxing last year to improve his strength and learn fighting skills. He trains two nights per week in Fernie.
"I need to do this. It's good for me and it's fun and it's something I push myself to do," he said.
Brothers Cyrus and Damian Lepsis from the Cranbrook Eagles Boxing Club were a formidable duo at the event.
Cyrus, 22, was a force of nature in his match against Franz Peters of Lethbridge Boxing Club. He dealt two eight counts to Peters on the first round and his opponent was saved from a knockout just as the referee rang the final bell.
Damian, 21, won his match against Rannock Derikson of Lethbridge by unanimous decision, which added a notch to his 5-0 record.
The brothers started fighting two years ago and have toured around to events in Medicine Hat, Calgary, Edmonton and Nelson. They train regularly each week.
Damian said the key to fighting well is getting into a focused mental state and drowning out any outer distractions.
"Lots of it is mental. If you think you're gonna gas out but you have more left to go, more energy still stored, you've got to tap into that mentally. You kind of get into a flow state, if you really get into it. Not thinking, just reacting," said Damian.
Correction: The article has been corrected to reflect that Luther Sawatzky won by unanimous decision, and not with a knock-out as previously stated.
