Roberts Creek’s 16-year-old boxer, 126-pound Aiden McKenzie, won his first competitive bout June 9 in North Vancouver when his Salmon Arm opponent’s corner threw in the towel during the second round to protect their boxer from the overwhelming attack he was unable to defend against as the well-trained McKenzie took it to him.
McKenzie, trained for this fight by Sunshine Coast Boxing Club (SCBC) coach Tariq Abdulrahman, was “dialed in” perfectly for this fight and made good use of the boxing fundamentals he has learned from Abdulrahman to land solid straight right hands set up by a strong left jab and ring movement that took the Salmon Arm boxer off his balance as he reacted to McKenzie’s lateral movement.
SCBC founder Rick Shannon remarked that McKenzie works enthusiastically on his boxing and fitness, making it a pleasure to coach him.
In another bout on the same card, SCBC middleweight Marcus Davies lost a points decision to White Rock’s Cole Hammel.
This was Davies’ first loss in almost two years. Davies is now boxing in the elite category where all the fighters have strong skills and lots of experience.
“We’re not going to win them all at this level,” Shannon said, “but we are going to learn and develop Marcus with these fights and plan on winning the big fights at the B.C. Championships in December.”
Those wins will lead Marcus to the Canadian Championships to be held in Victoria in April 2019.
And in an arrangement with Bellator MMA World Champion Julia Budd, a boxer from her Port Moody Gibsons MMA gym, Guido Deangelis, has registered with Boxing BC through the Sunshine Coast Boxing Club.
Deangelis made his debut Saturday by winning a lopsided decision over a Nanaimo boxer, with Shannon and Lance Gibson in his corner while the World Champion cheered him on from ringside.
Meanwhile, SCBC founder Rick Shannon has recently been involved again as an official in professional boxing.
May 25 in Langley, Shannon, who is licensed professionally by the British Columbia Athletic Commission, was a judge for the Canadian Women’s Professional Bantam Weight Championship fight won by Toronto’s Shelly Barnett in a points decision over Langley’s Alisha McPhee.
Shannon then travelled to Williams Lake June 2 where he judged two pro fights and refereed the bout between Mexico City middleweight Estaban Zambrano and Harley Mulvahill of Williams Lake, who scored a fourth-round TKO in his pro debut.
“Professional boxing is a different game than amateur,” said Shannon, “so when I do get to do pro boxing once or twice a year, I learn more about boxing and use the experience to make the Sunshine Coast Boxing Club even better.”
The SCBC trains 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday at their gym located ay Andy’s Plaza, 851 Gibsons Way in Gibsons. For information about the SCBC call Rick Shannon at 604-886-0928.
– Submitted
