Every seat in the house was filled Friday for the “Guys and Dolls” boxing event at the Coast Hotel and Convention Centre in downtown Langley.
The nine-bout show was exciting from beginning to end. The show's scheduled main event did not take place due to one of the two boxers being ill. Jen Yager was to fight Jaime Ward for a B.C. Lightweight Championship but Yager was down with pneumonia and could not fight.
The semi main event was elevated to the main event and what a main event it was when Langley City Boxing’s Alisah McPhee took on Darcie Nestor of the Chilliwack Boxing Club in a four-rounder for a City Championship. McPhee, who teaches school in Bradner, had several of her students and their parents watching her as she won every round in winning the title.
McPhee won every round on all three cards, however, she was forced to fight for it. Nestor fought with heart and was a solid competitor, challenging the quicker McPhee throughout the bout.
Another fight of note saw Pavir Atwal, 16, of Bisla Martial Arts advance closer to challenging for a Canadian title when he won a unanimous decision over Matt Ruff, 16, of Kitimat. The fight was very competitive, however, Atwal had a consistent edge throughout.
Local welterweights Gurpreet Buttar of City Boxing and Tom Bennett of Port Kells boxed to a razor sharp decision that favored Bennett.
The next show will take place on May 18, and in keeping with the theme of using titles of old movies the Fights in the City promotion will use the tag name of “Raging Bulls” for Clash @ The Cascades 17.
The show will feature a Super Middle Elimination Tournament to crown a B.C. Championship. Also in action will be heavyweight Adam Braidwood.
A much-anticipated rematch between Langley’s Shawn McDonald and Kelowna’s Daniel Joseph will be part of the card. Joseph won a disputed split decision in Kelowna last month to win the vacant B.C. Super Welterweight Championship.
All this and more will be part of Raging Bulls. For those who enjoyed the Guys and Dolls theme, Guys and Dolls 2 will happen July 6 at Clash @ The Cascades 18.