Blake Wilson didn’t expect to get bitten by the boxing bug when he first stepped into the gym last spring.
Today, the 30-year-old super heavyweight is fully hooked on right hooks, logging his third fight – and second win – last weekend at the Grizzly Cage Metamorphosis event in Calgary.
“He got the unanimous decision. It went the distance,” said his coach Craig Wilson (no relation). “It was a pretty dominant performance.”
Blake is one of a handful of new fighters at Rival Boxing Gym Cochrane. While he joined Rival only “to get in shape and lose some weight,” he quickly became more invested in the sport and now trains four to five times a week, each for as long as two hours.
It was that dedication that first inspired coach Craig to see if Blake wanted to move into the competitive realm. He jumped at the chance – and “Big Blake” stepped into the ring for the first time in Edmonton about three weeks ago.
Stepping out of it, he felt … sore.
“Just a little bit beat up,” Blake recalled with a laugh. “Just my arms and my nose … the whole body was a little sore. Pretty much everything.”
The bumps and lumps didn’t deter him, and he laced up the gloves again on Saturday night against Olympus Boxing Club’s Fabricio Mancia.
At 5-foot-11 and 282 pounds, Wilson competes in the super heavyweight category and stayed standing against Mancia for three two-minute rounds. When it was all said and done, Wilson was the clear winner – and the judges agreed.
Craig said he was proud of the winning performance of his large charge.
“He did build off the last fights he had … and he’s starting to get more comfortable,” said Craig. “He’s just growing as a boxer and as a person.”
Wilson will fight one more time this weekend in Edmonton before taking a break to train for the Boxing Alberta provincial championships in January.
Craig said he loves to see the transformation of athletes like Wilson, who has lost 65 pounds – and gained an untold amount of confidence.
“You look better and feel better, everything just snowballs,” he said. “When you’re motivated and happy … you just get results.”
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