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Silver lines path to B.C. Gold in Langley

In the B.C. amateur boxing world, there’s gold to be had at the Coast Hotel and Convention Centre’s ballroom on Friday, Aug. 1.

On the road to potential B.C. Golden Gloves titles, there is the Silver Gloves show which was held June 27 at the Coast Hotel and Convention Centre in downtown Langley.

The nine finals were a display of balance of senior boxers and youth, in what was a blend of entry-level and mid-level boxers, said show organizer and Langley City Boxing manager Dave Allison.

Elite boxers were not involved and will be at the Golden Gloves Aug 1.

Any boxer who won a Silver Gloves bout now has the opportunity compete in the Gold.

Allison reported that the “fight of the night” saw 15-year-old Danny Buckley from Kelowna’s Madkatz Boxing Club take on Pavan Jirh, 16, of Surrey’s Bisla Martial Arts. The bout was a real give-and-take with Jirh building a solid lead with an outstanding jab and good movement.

Halfway into the second round the bout turned into a brawl and this style favored Buckley, who dropped Jirh late in the round.

“Over the third it was mostly Buckley but was competitive,” Allison noted. “The decision went to Buckley as did the coveted Silver Boy Award as the outstanding boxer of the tournament.”

The final bout of the night was a senior welterweight tilt featuring Langley City Boxing’s Scott Woodward taking on undefeated Keagan Ballard of  Carlson Gracie MMA, out of Maple Ridge.

Ballard was not only undefeated, he has never heard the final bell since he has stopped all of his opponents.

“The first round was a solid round for Woodward who hurt Ballard during the round,” Allison said. “Ballard came back to win rounds two and three and the fight was a one-point fight in favor of Ballard.”

Another match of note pitted a pair of 15 year olds against each other.

Bisla Martial Arts boxer Anmol Somal took on Brandon Balbirnie of Zues Fight Science from 100 Mile House.

It was an entertaining bout with Somal taking the win and the distinction of runner up for Silver Boy.

It was “a great night of boxing” in front of 300-plus fans, Allison said.

FINAL BELL: Langley City Boxing product Mat Andreatta was on the card but didn’t end up competing after his opponent pulled out with one day's notice, Allison said.