Local boxer Anthony Walsh won his second gold medal in a month at the Golden Gloves competition.
Walsh, 14, competed in the 66-kilogram weight class and won his only fight by technical knockout during the tournament, held Feb. 27-28 in Stony Plain. Earlier in February, he won the gold medal in the 68 kg class at the Alberta Winter Games.
It was a tough first round in the Golden Gloves fight, but Walsh knocked his opponent out quickly into the second.
"He was really fast and had long reach. I had a little bit more reach than him, not much though. And lots of speed," he said.
"He was probably the fastest fighter I've ever fought but his punches were really sloppy and not (accurate). He just wasn't expecting it at the beginning of the second round so I just went in and ended it."
"This year was really big. There was like, 60 fights and usually there's 20," Walsh said.
His fighting record is now 5-4. Two of his victories were by TKO (technical knockout).
Walsh said the Olds Boxing Club has only one left-handed member, who's just starting out.
"He's O.K. right now, hasn't had much training but it's hard for me because he's a southpaw," Walsh said.
As a right-handed fighter, he said lefties present a huge challenge and are difficult to train for because there are so few of them.
"It's a really big deal. Almost everyone's an orthodox fighter, which means your left foot's forward. And then when you're facing someone when their right foot's forward, it throws off your footwork. And their jabs are a lot closer to your face whereas you're going to have to reach a lot more."
