The Manning Boxing Club attended one of the biggest tournaments of the year, Bronze Gloves, this past weekend in Edmonton. Bronze Gloves, traditionally, is a very large tournament with around 250 boxers from all over western Canada attending with 0-4 bouts experience. The boxers that attended were Dalton Schmidt, Davin Hunter, Ethan Hunter, Tyrel Dechant, Tyler Dillman, and Heather Jaeger. Manning now has 4 Bronze Gloves Champions in their midst.
As mentioned in the previous boxing article, Dalton Schmidt is very difficult to find fights for in his age/weight class. This tournament turned out to be a little different. Instead of the usual cutting of weight for a match, Dalton had to gain an incredible 6kg (around 14lbs) to bump up into the superheavyweight division 201+lbs. There were no boxers in his weight division so we moved him up. His opponent was heavier, but the right age. Dalton had a night to gain the weight, mostly in water and carbs. He made the weight by the skin of his teeth the next morning. That evening Dalton fought a very tough young man from Calgary. Dalton won a unanimous decision after 3 rounds of tough boxing. Gaining weight for match is not something that is recommended unless your boxer is very strong. Dalton is a very tough and determined young man.
Davin Hunter dusted off his gloves for his first fight of this season due to a shoulder injury early on. This was Davin’s third fight. The boy from Edmonton that he was fighting was said to be an excellent boxer, and won “best boxer” at tournament in September. Davin had no problems what so ever with him. It was 3 rounds of complete domination by Davin Hunter. He won a unanimous decision and even knocked the boy down at one point in the fight. Davin now has a record of 3-0. Watch for this incredible young boxer in the future.
Ethan Hunter also won a unanimous decision over a very difficult fighter from Calgary. This young man was very tall with long arms. Ethan had to adapt his style to fight this boy by going inside and punishing his body. He landed some incredible devastating blows in the third round. Ethan now has 5 fights under his belt. This is his third win in a row this season. Great Job Ethan!
Tyrel Dechant had his third fight of the year this weekend as well. He lost his match against a tough boxer from Prince George, B.C. He lost his contact lens in the first round, which made it very difficult to see. Tyrel has a promising boxing future ahead of him and knows what to work on before his next fight.
Tyler Dillman was definitely the Cinderella man of this tournament for the Manning Boxing Club. Tyler had his third fight and his first win! Every time Tyler gets in the ring he improves. He fought a young man from Red Deer who gave Tyler a run for his money. He won his match by Split Decision, which means it was very close, but a great fight! Congratulations Tyler on your win.
Heather Jaeger attended Bronze Gloves with hopes of getting a match. Female fighters are harder to find and therefore she did not get a bout. She did have an opportunity to get in the ring and spar with a gal from Saskatchewan. This boxer had about 15lbs on Heather, therefore, it was a very controlled sparring match to ensure Heather did not get injured. After a little bit of a bleeding nose and a lot heart, Heather came away from Bronze Gloves with a real idea what competitive boxing is all about and she only wants to try harder now.
Manning Boxing Club would like to thank all the members and businesses of the Community that have supported us in our strive of victory. Anyone that has ever been in boxing, whether here in Manning, or elsewhere, knows how challenging of a sport it is. These young athletes fought their hearts out and should be commended.
Dalton Schmidt - Gold medal - 91+kg Cadet B
Ethan Hunter - Gold Medal - 61kg Cadet B
Tyler Dillman - Winner - 75kg Cadet C
Tyrel Dechant
Bronze Gloves full tournament results
