Punching above his weight has earned boxer Usama Khan a spot in the ring at the national championships this spring.
“We’re super proud of him,” said Khan’s coach, Rival Boxing Club owner Craig Wilson. “Everyone here is a team – blood sweat and tears, all together. Everybody has had their part in it as well … It’s a win for everybody.”
At the 13th annual Neiman-Page Memorial national qualifying event in Medicine Hat last weekend, Khan won by unanimous decision after battling for three rounds against hometown hitter Corwin Herter.
While both giants are in the amateur super heavyweight category, Khan clocks in at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds – while Herter stands 6-foot-4, 275 pounds.
“He’s a really big guy,” Khan said of his opponent, adding his strategy to wear down big guys like Herter is to keep them at a distance with his lanky figure and long arms.
“Just fighting smart, not getting into a brawl – not to throw haymakers, but go for the long run,” he said. “In a three-round fight, you should try to out box, out skill and out point them.”
Wilson said Khan started a bit slow, but found his feet in Round 2 and laid down some solid combinations to force Herter into a standing eight-count twice by the end of the match.
“Pretty much from the second round, it was pretty dominant,” he said.
Since the tournament was a national qualifier, Khan’s win earned him an invitation to the Boxing Canada 2017 National Championships in Quebec City in April. More than 230 fighters from across the country will compete during five days of competition – and winners will represent Canada on the international sports stage.
Khan, 26, is the first member from Rival to advance to a national competitive level since the club opened four years ago.
“It is a big step up. I have to execute,” said Khan, adding he will face unknown opponents for the first time in his career. “It’s all mental now – most of the (physical) prep is done.”
Wilson said Khan has just 10 bouts under his belt so far, and in the open senior elite category “there could be guys there with 50 or 60 bouts.”
“This will test him. It will be against the best,” said the coach, adding he has confidence Khan has both the mental and the physical prowess to pull off a win.
Khan said he’ll spar with national level teammates from Calgary and beyond in preparation for the national championships – and he’ll also compete at the Alberta Golden Gloves in Calgary in March, which he won last year.
“We train hard and we work on game plans,” said Khan. (It’s about) knowing what your goal is and sticking to it.”
