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Four medals for Nelson boxers at nationals

Elias Martinez, Makalu Babott, Leah Eberle and Brayden Hellekson competed
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L-R: Nelson’s Brayden Hellekson, Leah Eberle, Elias Martinez, head coach Jesse Pineiro and Makalu Babott competed last week at the national boxing championships. Photo submitted

Nelson boxers captured four medals at the national championships.

Elias Martinez, Makalu Babott and Leah Eberle each won silver for Team B.C., while Brayden Hellekson took bronze at the tournament in Langford that ran April 23 to 27.

Martinez, who fought at 75 kilograms in the junior C division, defeated Ontario’s Umar Carcamo by TKO in the semifinals but lost on points in the final to Manitoba’s Mohammed Makhlouf.

Watch Martinez’s bout below:

Babott competed at 42 kg in the junior C division. He settled for silver after losing 4-1 on points to Nova Scotia’s Carson Scholes.

Eberle, fighting at 54 kg in the youth division, lost by second-round TKO to two-time national champion Kate Lee from Nova Scotia.

Hellekson meanwhile fell in the semifinals to eventual champion Tiago Balteiro of Ontario at 82 kg in the youth division. Hellekson previously won bronze with Team B.C. at the Canada Winter Games in February.

All four fighters train with the Nelson Boxing Club, whose owner Jesse Pineiro also served as Team B.C.’s head coach during nationals. Thirty-eight fighters represented B.C., while 230 total boxers competed from across Canada.

Related: Nelson Boxing named province’s top club