By JAMIE SHANKS, of the Weyburn Review
With barely a year of experience under his belt, Soo Line Boxing Club heavyweight Lee Sluser must have looked like the underdog at the Canada Winter Games this past week.
When he left the ring on Friday, however, his belt was made of gold.
"I really enjoyed myself," said Sluser, 18, after defeating Mathieu Raymond of Quebec on Friday in Corner Brook, Nfld. to win the heavyweight division's gold medal. The 200-pound product of Glenavon was the last medal hope for Saskatchewan's boxing contingent after his five teammates were eliminated during competition earlier in the week.
"I was the last one to get through," the left-handed fighter said, adding he never expected make it to the final.
"No, not at all. I thought, 'If I just come close, that'll be all right'."
Amazingly, Sluser had just seven previous matches to his credit since joining Weyburn's Soo Line club roughly a year ago. His only defeat - a first-round loss last November in Calgary to David Barthel of Alberta - was avenged in their rematch in Corner Brook on Wednesday when the big southpaw handed Barthel two standing eight-counts before the Alberta coach threw in the towel in the fourth round.
In semifinal action the following night, Sluser went on to defeat Alex White of Ontario, the 1998 Canadian heavyweight champion who also fought internationally last year.
The explanation for Sluser's rather explosive arrival on the amateur boxing scene lies outside the ring: the young athlete holds a second-degree black belt in shotokan karate and has trained in Weyburn for over a decade at Vilcu's Karate Club under sensei Harold Vilcu.
"One of the edges Lee had is that he's been competing since he was five years old," Vilcu said, adding that Sluser is no stranger to the physical demands of boxing. "He's grown up with full-contact and he knows where it's all at."
Sluser's growing interest in kickboxing prompted Vilcu to introduce him to Soo Line coach Hank Hartenberger last year to assist in fine-tuning his hand work. Hartenberger wound up encouraging him to try out for the provincial boxing team bound for the Canada Winter Games which began Feb. 20.
"It was a bit of a crash course we tried to get him as many fights as we could," Hartenberger recalled. He is still impressed with Sluser's ability. "He can punch, and he's got that good left hook and left uppercut. He hits hard with both hands."
That was evident in Corner Brook where Robert and Debbie Sluser were in attendance to watch their son battle his way through three opponents and miss two potential byes simply through the luck of the draw.
Adding to the drama was the fact that the odds in the final were reportedly 4-1 in favour of Quebec.
"It was like someone dropped a bombshell," Sluser's father said of his gritty performance and ultimate victory.
"He ended up fighting three nights in a row. He came up the hard way and there was no sneaking in the back door. He earned it."
In addition to the assistance of his coaches and others, Sluser's extensive background in the martial arts paid off every time he stepped in the ring.
"I'd have to say that karate played a big factor in it," Sluser said of his approach to boxing. "Once you get them together, they're more or less the same thing it's discipline and learning, being able to be taught. You've got to be willing to learn."
Sluser received some crucial support and advice from teammate and fellow Soo Line boxer Chad Olson after Olson lost his own quarter-final match on Wednesday to Ontario's Jason Ouimet (who went on to win the gold in their division). By winning the gold, Sluser has also qualified for Canada's national amateur boxing team.
Weyburn's other athlete at the Winter Games, weightlifter Deana Thompson of Creelman, placed 11th in the over-63 kg class with a total combined lift of 107.5 kg.
Saskatchewan finished sixth in the medal standings at the two-week Winter Games with six golds, six silvers and seven bronze.
Box 400, 904 East Avenue
Weyburn, SK
S4H 2K4
Phone: (306) 842-7487
Fax: (306) 842-0282
E-mail: production@weyburnreview.com
This web page and its contents are copyright of the Weyburn
Review (1987) Ltd.