Members of Inner City Boxing PG who are heading to Edmonton for sparring sessions are, from left, Aria Greenwood, Audrey Edmunds, Trysha Berndt, Michael Brooks, Thunder Innis, Adam Young, Joshua Greenwood, Koehen McLeod and Canaan Woodrow.
The first major fight card of the year is a couple months away, but the competitive season is already in full swing for members of Inner City Boxing PG.
In preparation for their own tournament, Night of the Wardogs on Oct. 25 at the Prince George Roll-A-Dome, nine Inner City boxers will be tuning up in Edmonton this weekend. They’ll be in the Alberta capital for sparring sessions against fighters from Alliance Boxing Club (Friday) and South Side Boxing (Saturday).
“There are two main reasons that we’re going,” said Inner City coach Kenny Lally. “We want to go and make some more matches for our fight card in town. It’s really nice that we can go there, see the competition, especially because we have lots of novice fighters and we want to see the field. And the second thing, this is huge for our team. Inter-club sparring is intense. All these fighters will come out of this 100 times better. It’ll be great.”
Boxers making the trip are Aria Greenwood, Audrey Edmunds, Trysha Berndt, Michael Brooks, Thunder Innis, Joshua Greenwood, Koehen McLeod, Adam Young and Canaan Woodrow.
The 14-year-old Young is relishing the chance to step into the ring in Edmonton. The last time he faced an opponent from outside of his own club was almost a year ago when he competed in the B.C. Bronze Gloves in Chilliwack. He was supposed to have a bout in Quesnel in June, but that one fell through at the last minute. So, he can’t wait to test himself in these sparring sessions.
“I’m excited to get back in the ring,” said Young, who has a background in kickboxing and mixed martial arts. “I’m hoping just to see how much I’ve improved, and just see where I stand and what I need to improve on.”
Heading into this trip, Young is feeling good about the way he’s moving around the ring and setting up his attack.
“I’ve been working on my balance, throwing while I’m moving,” he said. “So I really want to show my footwork.”
Lally is happy with the progress he has seen from Young, and considers his punching precision to be one of his biggest assets.
“It took a little bit of time, but the kid, he’s like a surgeon,” Lally said. “The geometry of his punches is very, very nice and he understands the physics of it very well.
“He’s going to be a nice boxer,” Lally added. “He also has heavy hands. But he’s young, he’s only 14, so there’s lots of development to do, lots of learning. But the future looks bright for him.”
Woodrow, 17, is another up-and-coming Inner City boxer who can’t wait to test his talents out of town.
“This is my first time going on a team road trip, especially somewhere as far as Edmonton,” he said. “It’s a cool introduction to the competitive aspect of boxing. The most I’ve ever done is sparring here at Inner City, so this will be a really cool experience and a good opportunity, and I’m glad to be allowed to come. I’m nervous, but excited.”
Woodrow had been interested in boxing from a young age, and his first exposure to Inner City was through a local high school program this past school year. Lally and fellow coach Jag Seehra liked the qualities they saw in him, and invited him to start training as a club member. Since then, he has continued to impress.
“His first time boxing was with us,” Seehra said. “He was rough around the edges skill-wise, but he has so much heart, so much dedication, so much determination that in the short time we’ve had him with us, he has excelled so much. I think him going on this trip and getting that experience sparring with somebody from outside of the gym is really going to elevate him for the season. He’s definitely in the running to get his first boxing match this year. We want to get him a fight in September and hopefully have him as one of the guys fighting in Night of the Wardogs in October.”
As much as boxing is an individual sport, Seehra and Lally also see this excursion to Edmonton as a chance to do some team building.
“When a team has bonded, they will train harder together and they will fight harder together,” Lally said.
As for Night of the Wardogs, Lally says the card is taking shape.
“We’re looking for about 13 bouts, and right now we have about seven,” he said. “Everything is moving forward and we’re really excited to show off our Wardogs.”
Tickets for Night of the Wardogs are now available online at innercityboxingpg.com.