Airdrie boxers pulled no punches at the recent 2023 Silver Gloves event, hosted in Medicine Hat on Jan. 14 and 15.
The weekend saw five young members of Airdrie's Humble Boxing Academy step into the ring and go toe-to-toe with their respective opponents, coming home with a perfect nine wins from nine.
The five Humble Boxing Academy members included 14-year-old Noah Janssen, 16-year-old Emily Vaigneault, 11-year-old Alex Lypchuk, 14-year-old Ayden Foster, and 18-year-old Jim-Stevens Pasibe.
Humble Boxing head coach Lucas George said each athlete took part in two bouts, apart from Janssen, who only fought once due to a lack of competitors in his weight class and age group.
Impressively, George said each of the Airdrie-based boxers, all of whom are relatively new to the sport, maintained their unbeaten records.
“Right now, they’re all undefeated,” he said. “Ayden has been with us for only six or seven months. He came in as a kid who played hockey and decided he wanted to box. He’s 6-0 now, and Alex has only been training for three or four months and he’s technically 3-0... And then Noah had a couple of exhibitions and his record is 3-0 now. Of course, Emily had her first boxing matches in Medicine Hat and she’s now 2-0.”
Pasibe, a Calgary-based boxer who trains out of Humble Boxing Academy, also won his two bouts, according to George. As a result, the 18-year-old was named the weekend's Best Elite Boxer by Boxing Alberta.
Another Humble Boxing fighter who received an individual accolades at the Silver Gloves was Lypchuk, who was named the weekend's Best Junior A Boxer after his two victories.
Humble Boxing Academy's next big event will be the 2023 Golden Gloves in late April, according to George. He said the club's fighters will continue to train in the interim and hopefully get a few more bouts under their belts in the lead-up. He added provincials and nationals are two other competitions Humble boxers have set their sights on.
