BC Bronze Gloves Return to Prince George

By Kelly Sharp

      BC Bronze Gloves at Connaught Youth Centre

The young boxer’s heart is pounding. The sound of the bell elevates the rush of adrenaline. Welcome to the BC Bronze Gloves in Prince George. The 2-day championship, hosted by the Spruce Capital Warriors Boxing Club, attracted novice boxers from Alberta and BC to the Connaught Youth Centre. Six bouts into his amateur boxing experience, Forrest Shale of Prince Rupert is a BC Bronze Gloves champ. Named the Bronze Boy as the best fighter in the 2 day tournament, the 16 year-old hockey player turned boxer scored a pair of impressive victories in the Prince George ring. He posted a unanimous three-round decision over a Kitmat challenger before stopping Rowall Galang of Vancouver’s Astoria Boxing Club in the third round of 165-lb. junior novice final.

“My coach told me I may be losing so I picked it up,” Shale said in ending the bout 1:34 into the third round.

The Prince Rupert Secondary student continues to improve his boxing skills while developing the mental side of pugilism.

“I am not as nervous as I was before, I would be shaking when I entered the ring,” said Shale.

The chief official of BC amateur boxing, Ian Gibson, saw plenty of boxing potential during the BC Bronze Gloves.

“This was terrific, if we stopped fights we are saving the kids. The whole purpose is to get the kids involved,” Gibson said.

Boxing in northern BC is in the rebuilding mode with the loss of senior boxers and the emphasis on attracting newcomers to the sport.

“It just means the clubs are replenishing,” Gibson observed of the cyclical popularity of boxing.

All three Prince George based boxing clubs, Spruce Capital, Shaolin and Inner City were well represented at the BC Bronze Gloves.

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