In his first-ever hometown bout, Josh Greenwood showed a packed house why he has such a bright future in the sport of boxing.
Greenwood, a 17-year-old from Inner City Boxing PG, was one of the stars of the show at the Champions of the North multi-discipline fight card on Saturday night at the Roll-A-Dome. He took on Kashton Charlie of Burns Lake Boxing and, in a fight that had a furious pace from start to finish, scored a victory by unanimous decision.
Greenwood’s biggest moment came in the second round of the three-round fight. Just when Charlie appeared to have him pinned in a corner, Greenwood spun out and away from his opponent and immediately went on the attack. For five seconds or more, he landed a flurry of uppercuts to Charlie’s midsection. The crowd loved it, and Greenwood fed off that energy. Neither fighter backed down as the match continued, but Greenwood landed more quality blows. His speed, agility and punching accuracy was impressive, and he was rewarded by the judges.
“It felt really good,” Greenwood said. “The fight was amazing – he fought very well. It was a very hard fight and I was just trying to box, and I think I did that very well. I was dropping my hands a bit, but that’s OK.”
Greenwood was surprised he didn’t get an eight-count against Charlie with that barrage of uppercuts in the second round.
“I didn’t think I’d finish him. I thought I’d get an eight-count but it didn’t happen,” he said.
Winning in such fine style at home and feeling the support of the crowd is something Greenwood won’t forget.
“It was like nothing I’ve ever experienced,” he said. “It was so great having all my teammates and the hometown cheering behind me.”
Greenwood had Inner City coaches Jag Seehra and Kenny Lally in his corner for the bout, and both gave him top marks.
“He did everything right, everything we’ve been working on – the movement, the defence, the second attack,” Seehra said. “Everything he was doing was just spot-on, and it’s so nice to see that it’s all coming together. Super proud of Josh. He’s just made for the sport.”
Lally, meanwhile, said Greenwood was “focused and understood that he was the main event and we needed that win.”
Lally also gave credit to his old coach, Bob Pegues, for Greenwood’s momentum-grabbing spin and counterattack out of the corner in the second round.
“That is the two-week program (our boxers) did with Bob (leading up to the fight card),” Lally said. “One hundred per cent. You saw a lot of our fighters tonight, they’d spin and go right to the body. That is from the time with Bob.”
Five other Inner City boxers also showcased their talents on Saturday night, all in exhibition matches. To the eye, 15-year-old Thunder Innis and 17-year-old Ben Ruttan got the better of their opponents, while Jimmy Nijjar, Michael Brooks and Trayton Ruttan all battled hard but likely would have lost on the score cards.
Innis stepped into the ring against a boxer five years older than himself, Dan Leroux of Wolverines Boxing in Fort Nelson, and had the crowd buzzing with his display of raw power and fearlessness, mixed with near-perfect instinct and beautiful technique.
“It was awesome – I felt great,” Innis said. “And the crowd, I could hear my mom in the crowd. It was the greatest feeling.”
Seehra and Lally are growing accustomed to seeing Innis do his stuff. He already has B.C. and Alberta titles to his credit this season but both of those accomplishments came away from home.
“Thunder is a beast and I’m just so happy now that Prince George has witnessed who Thunder Innis is,” Seehra said. “We’ve talked about him, and now they’ve witnessed how great this kid is. He’s definitely going to be a future champion.”
Ben Ruttan took on another Wolverines boxer, John Partridge. The two were well-matched, but Ruttan was busier with his fists and landed more punches.
“It was a beautiful fight,” said Lally, adding that Ruttan’s previous bout at the Alberta Sub-Novice Tournament in Calgary earlier this month only went one round before Ruttan was declared the victor. “So he never got the full effect of a fight, but he sure did this time. He surprised the heck out of us. The way he was putting his combos together was unbelievable. He was throwing seven-, eight-, nine-punch combos. Yes, he was tired at the end, but I told him, ‘Don’t beat yourself up, kid, that was high output, and that’s how you should feel after.’”
Nijjar, Brooks and Trayton Ruttan were last-minute additions to Champions of the North and gave their opponents tough matches. Nijjar took on Lemuel Diaz Cave of Cave Athletics in Delta, Brooks fought Kenn Dobb of Iron Forge Fight and Fitness in Fort St. John, and Trayton Ruttan battled Devin Armstrong of the Wolverines club in Fort Nelson.
“I am so proud of all six fighters,” Lally said. “They definitely showcased their skills and what Inner City is about, so I couldn’t be more proud of them. We went 3-3 tonight. The three guys that did end up winning were the three that were originally planned for the card. A lot of fighters dropped out and our Wardogs, the three other guys, they stepped up for the fights just to make the show happen, which is awesome. So we couldn’t ask for more.”
Next up for Inner City fighters is a card in Quesnel on Dec. 7.