Lukas Tamayo aims to get his hand raised at next month's Silver Gloves competition in Prince Albert. (Facebook/ Rex Tamayo)

By Nigel Maxwell

Boxing

Local boxers ready to test their skills at Silver Gloves

Dec 29, 2022 | 4:27 PM

In just over a week, Prince Albert’s Red Wolf Boxing Club will be hosting a Silver Gloves tournament with fighters gathering from across Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Manitoba.

Red Wolf’s Cole Ahenakew will be on the card and is entering his 15th fight. The 25-year-old recently travelled to Calgary and lost by split decision to Al Awat, a boxer with nearly three times as much experience.

“It was really close and I thought I had it but it is what it is,” Ahenakew said, commenting on the loss.

That being said, Ahenakew added he won’t make any excuses and is eager to step back in the ring with Awat again.

“I boxed way better this fight. I didn’t brawl or anything. I boxed a clean fight and it was a good experience for me,” he said.

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Ahenakew and Awat have split their first two matches. (Facebook/ Rex Tamayo)

Explaining how he has gained more confidence after the fight, Ahenakew said he was not intimated, knowing he would face someone with far more experience. He explained he went into Calgary with the mindset it was just another guy.

“‘That’s how I took it and it went well that way,” he said.

When asked what improvements he’ll make for his next fight, Ahenakew said he is just re-evaluating some technical things and will be focused on, in his words, pulling the trigger faster.

Also on next month’s card is 15-year-old Lukas Tamayo who has an amateur record of 3-5 but has gone toe-to-toe with some absolute beasts, including his recent opponent in Calgary, who he beat by unanimous decision.

“It’s really a mental game. You’ve got to be calm in there Your head’s gotta be in it because if your head’s not in it, the rest won’t matter,” he said.

Tamayo’s boxing experience is relatively short and he recalled how prior to COVID, his background mainly was in the martial arts. However, when quarantine restrictions began to ease, he and his dad checked out the boxing gym and the rest is history.

“I want this to be my thing all throughout high school,” he said

Cole Ahenakew (left) and Lukas Tamayo (right) with Coach Braddock Koch. (Facebook)

Chaylee Armitage, 13, has been boxing for about a year and said her brothers and father followed the spor closely. And so when her brother signed up, Armitage couldn’t resist trying it out for herself.

“I think it was just fun making friends and being part of a group,” she said.

Despite her thin stature, Armitage is no pushover and found her passion for boxing almost instantly. Narrowly losing her last fight in October, Armitage is looking forward to stepping in the ring next month and every match that follows.

The Silver Gloves tournament is set to run Jan. 7 – 8 at the Prince Albert Exhibition Centre.

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nigel.maxwell@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @nigelmaxwell