Submitted
The Nelson Boxing Club’s amateur team has wrapped up the competitive season by going three-for-three at a card in Spokane on Saturday.
Leah Eberle, 16, won a very tough, fast-paced decision against No. 6-ranked Rosalee Ruiz from Walla Walla, Wash. Eberle was coming off a silver-medal performance at the national championships and put all her skills and conditioning to the test against a very talented opponent.
Riel Martinez, 13, used his strength and aggressive boxing to earn a decision against Matthew Charlton from Portland, Ore. Martinez dug deep to get the win against an experienced and speedy opponent.
Marino Raffo, 11, won a dominant decision against Spokane’s Alec Grant. Raffo’s superior boxing skills and southpaw angles were the difference against the very tough Grant.
Nelson boxing had a great 2019 season that included:
• 77 total bouts
• Nine provincial champions (Ryan Lewis, Elias Martinez, Brayden Hellekson, Riel Martinez, Max Berkeley, Leah Eberle, Stryder Sutton, Makalu Babott, Brett Adams)
• One bronze medal at the 2019 Canada Winter Games (Brayden Hellekson)
• Three silver medalists and one bronze at the Canadian Championships in Langford (Elias Martinez, Leah Eberle, Makalu Babott, Brayden Hellekson)
• Four Tacoma Golden Gloves champions (Stryder Sutton, Riel Martinez, Leah Eberle, Makalu Babott)
• One Alberta Golden Gloves champion (Brett Adams)
• Jimmy Simms Award for Excellence (Samson Berkeley)
• Junior Boxer of the Year (Elias Martinez)
• Voted Boxing Club of the Year by the BC Amateur Boxing Association
“We are very proud of these great athletes who compete in one of the most demanding sports on earth and are developing into great boxers and great people,” the team’s coaches said.
The amateur team will be working hard over the summer on conditioning goals in order to exceed these accomplishments in 2020.