By JAMIE SHANKS, of the Weyburn
ReviewBy JAMIE SHANKS, of the Weyburn
Review
Lee Sluser waited. And waited. And won.
Sluser's patience and timing paid off in his heavyweight fight with Kirk Sutton of Williston, N.D. during one of the Soo Line Boxing Club's biggest-ever cards held at their Weyburn gym on Saturday night.
The young southpaw showed the capacity crowd why he won the gold medal at the Canada Games last month in Newfoundland as he defeated Sutton with three knockdowns and a third-round RSC (referee stops contest).
"He was a tough fighter," Sluser said of his senior opponent, who had an advantage of 15 pounds and roughly 10 years over the 18-year-old Glenavon native. "He was strong. He was quick."
The two fighters bided their time throughout the match, circling each other warily and throwing calculated punches as they repeatedly lunged in to strike and retreat.
Sluser is still in limbo, however, when it comes to the potential spot on Canada's national boxing team he earned with his victory in Newfoundland. Although he hasn't received any information from them yet, he's not in a rush to make any hasty choices about his future in the sport.
"I'm pretty much waiting. I don't want to make any decision yet," said Sluser, who remarkably is still only in his first season of amateur boxing after years of involvement in karate.
Weyburn's Dominic "Tiger" Paradis also continued to leave a powerful impression on fans and opponents alike, improving his record to 14-2 with a points victory over Ian MacLaurin of Saskatoon. Paradis dominated the first round of their match, his eyes blazing as he rained blow after blow upon MacLaurin at will and handed him a standing-eight count moments later in the second.
The besieged MacLaurin, his back to the ropes at one point later in the second round, began countering frequently with uppercuts in an effort to carve out some breathing room, giving Paradis a taste of at least one of them.
"He's got power," Paradis admitted.
"He made me work the body a lot. He made me go inside, and that's my style."
The dynamic 139-pound fighter, who credits his success to Soo Line coach Terry Coveney, shared the award for the best bout of the night with his Saskatoon opponent.
They had some competition later in the evening, however, from Weyburn's Chad Olson and Kombo Mohamed of Calgary.
Olson, 18, stepped into the ring knowing full well he was outgunned by the 31-year-old Mohamed, who ultimately won the match on points.
"He was a tough man, I'll tell you that much," said Olson, adding his strategy was "just to stay alive." Things were made even tougher for him when he caught a thumb in the eye from a punch during the first round which effectively blurred his vision.
Even so, Olson - a veteran of close to 50 matches and a national middleweight silver medalist - wasn't about to go out without the proverbial fight.
"I was waiting for him to throw and counter on that. I was thinking if he hit me, I'd hit him right back and let him know I was there."
Their bout was consequently a display of speed and technique as Mohamed relentlessly advanced and pressed the attack in search of a knockout against the highly-mobile Olson, who indeed landed some solid counterpunches in the second round. The two boxers wasted no time launching a series of explosive flurries in the third, Olson at last standing his ground and even backing up his opponent despite appearing to take the worst of the exchanges.
Olson was awarded the trophy for most courageous boxer while Mohamed took away the honours for the card's most sportsmanlike boxer with ability.
Olson is looking forward to the upcoming provincials and is now concentrating on being ready for another Soo Line card planned for May 15 at the Weyburn Comprehensive School.
"I'm going to train damn hard for that and I ain't losing," he said.
Fellow Soo Line boxer Owen Porte opened Saturday night's card with a no-decision match against Dexter Badger of Saskatoon and was later presented with the annual trophy in memory of the late Larry Hartenberger for the most improved junior (under 16) Weyburn boxer by Lt.-Col. Ed Staniowski of the Royal Regina Rifles. The Doug McKenzie Memorial trophy for the most improved senior Weyburn boxer was presented to "Tiger" Paradis by Billy McKenzie.
Joel Franks of Weyburn won his match against Simon Delorme of Belcourt, N.D. and earned the best junior boxer award. Evan Nyhus of Weyburn also appeared with Adam Azur of Belcourt in a no-decision bout.
In other notable matches, 139-pound Canadian female champion Jaime Clampitt of Calgary showed lightning-fast handwork in her win over Pearl Munro Sutherland of Saskatoon; and 1998 Canadian super-heavyweight champion Arthur Cook of Winnipeg emerged victorious from his match with Saskatoon's Ernest Sutherland, winning the award for best senior boxer on the night.
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Review (1987) Ltd.
