B.C and Alberta athletes threw some strong punches at Fernie Old School Boxing Club’s Judgement Night V at the Community Centre on February 24.
Fernie Old School Boxing’s very own Michael Hutchinson, who returned to the ring for the first time after 13 years, met his match with Kelowna Madkatz Boxer Christian Geddes. Hutchinson made his entry to MC Hammer’s Can’t Touch This in front of an excited crowd.
Hutchinson had the upper hand in the earlier part of the competition. He managed to keep just out of reach of Geddes and attacked with some strong punches, but Geddes upped his game half-way through and fired back in the third round. This ultimately worked in his favour, and Geddes emerged the champion.
Hutchinson didn’t give Geddes an easy win though. Geddes admitted the fight was one of the most difficult he had ever had.
Another notable performance came from Elk Valley Bulls Rugby Club members Alex Nunn and Hayden Allen. Nunn dealt some sharp blows, but Allen managed to keep Nunn at a distance and he snuck in some stealthy punches that ultimately lead to his victory.
Luther Sawatzky from Fernie Old School Boxing Club faced off against Dagan Bodnariuk of Cranbrook Eagles Boxing Club in their debut bout. They attacked each other right after the starting bell rang, and Sawatzky landed a hit that resulted in a standing eight count, which gave him the win.
Juan Morales and Jesse Liepert hit hard. Morales swung wide to get Liepert underneath him, which resulted in a few standing eight counts and steered the judges in his favour.
James Joinson fired an undefended right cross at Steve Cho only 40 seconds into their round, which resulted in Cho losing his contact lenses and being unable to continue.
Lethbridge Boxing Club was also represented at the event.
President and head coach Mike Johnson stated that he was proud of everyone who came out to participate.
“The boxers were all true warriors and every single one of them were winners in my eyes. They all trained hard through the blood, sweat and tears and this evening was a true reflection of their hard work,” he wrote in an e-mail.