Boxing competitors traveled from Saskatchewan, Alberta and North Dakota to compete at the South Saskatchewan Classic in Leader this past Saturday.

The event, hosted by Sandhills Boxing Club, got underway with three sparring matches to give some of the younger competitors added experience with different opponents.

The 15 bouts on the main card featured a mix of ages and experience. Two competitors from Leader’s Sandhills Boxing Club, eight-year-old Emma Jodoin and, nine-year-old Kash Rader, displayed a lot of courage and skill during their bouts. No winners or losers were determined as both contests featured athletes under the age of 10 and therefore were Fun Box matches.

The remaining 13 bouts included competitors ranging in age from 11 to 39-years-old, some who had never fought before, others who had numerous contests under their belts and those who have earned themselves a national title.

American National Champion, Gracy Kennedy, who trains out of Three Nations Boxing in North Dakota, went head to head for three minute-and-a-half rounds against Canadian National Champion, Ella Meredith, from South Paw Boxing in Calgary. Both athletes who are both under the age of 16, put on a display of boxing talent for the audience and the judges, who ultimately gave the win to Kennedy.

The ninth bout of the night featured another Canada versus US showdown between two 14-year-old national champions.

American National Champion, Moroni Hale, also training out of Three Nations Boxing in North Dakota, went fist to fist against Canadian National Champion, Joshua Williams of Marshall Boxing in Edmonton AB. The contest went the duration with both opponents landing multiple punches, however, with no referee stoppage, the bout went to the judges decision with the Canadian champion, Williams, taking the win for the contest.

However, the loudest cheers of the night were for the hometown talent.

Twelve-year-old Jack Hartell of Sandhills Boxing Club in Leader, had a re-match against an opponent he won against earlier this season, 12-year-old Dalton Gerstenhofer of North Battleford. Hartell was looking to defend his win and put up a good fight for three one-minute rounds but fell short losing to Gerstenhofer by split decision.

The last fight of the night featured 39-year-old Dean Aldridge of Sandhills Boxing Club and Max Hines who trains out of Marshall Boxing in Edmonton AB. Both competitors with just two career bouts went the distance and were toe-to-toe for three rounds of two minutes each. Despite a valiant effort on Aldridge’s part, the victory was handed to Hines to cap off the evening.

Although many more competitions are scheduled in the coming months, the South Saskatchewan Classic did book-end the contest season for the Sandhills Boxing Club Athletes. Owner and trainer, Ken Blohm, proudly stated that all of their athletes came a long way this season and he is excited to see what is in store next year.