Maybe it was just the rope-a-dope. But don’t give boxing the 10-count just yet in the face of the ferocious media and marketing onslaught it has faced from the growth of mixed martial arts over the past decade.
The B.C. cruiserweight boxing title bout between Ken “Heavy Hands” Huber of Kamloops and Aaron Downey of Vancouver headlines the perhaps aptly-named Resurrection card tonight at 7 p.m. at Pearkes Arena.
“Combsport [one of two amateur boxing governing bodies in B.C.] is associated with the WBC and they have done a lot to bring boxing back to life. They have put on 24 events in B.C. over the last year. So there are lots of opportunities for guys to be boxing again now,” said Jason Heit, head coach of Island MMA, co-promoter of tonight’s card along with Peterec’s Gym.
Boxing, of course, never really went away.
“It’s stayed strong,” said Heit, who represented Canada at the 1995 Pan Am Games and just missed making the 1996 Olympic team for Atlanta.
“Look at the [Manny] Pacquiao-[Floyd] Mayweather [boxing] fight. It’s going to be the biggest pay-per-view event in history and biggest payday [for any form of fighting].”
Tonight’s Resurrection card at Pearkes, featuring both boxing and kick-boxing, is all-amateur.
The first five bouts leading up to the Huber-Downey championship fight feature boxing, with Paul Lopez against Leo Samerilli, Peter Lopez taking on Scott Woodward, Cody Sahlstrom fighting Chris Sampson, Shawn Hill going against Ian Harrington and Brandon Colantonio taking on Barent Hagan.
That leads to the main event. Huber and Downey have been around and are among the most experienced of Canadian amateur boxers, between them holding several B.C. and Canadian titles.
That will be followed by eight kickboxing matches, capped by the ISKA B.C. lightweight title bout between Tim “Pacman” Packer and “Ruthless” Lucas Taylor.
“Ticket sales have been strong for [tonight’s] card,” said Heit.
Doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $30 and available at the door at Pearkes Arena.
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