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Written by Dale Woodard
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Monday, November 23 2009, 10:46 PM |
You won’t have to toss Stuart Gurlevitch a dictionary and ask him to look up “comeback.”
The 14-year -old Lethbridge boxer won’t need to considering he’s walking proof of one.
And as Gurlevitch hit the ring when the Bridge City Boxing Club hosted the 2010 Alberta Provincials last weekend at the Lethbridge YMCA, he did so as an athlete who had to overcome a few hurdles to get where he is.
That hurdle came early in his boxing career.
Two days from his first competitive boxing event at the Sub-Novice Tournament match last September, Gurlevitch’s boxing aspirations had to take a back seat when he was hit by a car, sustaining a broken collar bone and muscle damage in his left shoulder.
“It was pretty unfortunate, two days before the event,” said Gurlevitch Saturday night prior to taking the ring for his fourth bout of the weekend. “I was going to compete (last year), but I had the injury. So I had to wait until this year. It’s fine now, so I’m back boxing and feeling better than ever.”
When Gurlevitch was green-lighted to return to the ring, he wasted no time making it count.
And he didn’t wait until he had the chance to box in front of the hometown faithful last weekend.
“Two weekends ago he fought in Edmonton at the Alberta Sub-Novice tournament,” said coach Kevin Moline. “He went up against a Regina fighter who was one weight class higher than him and he won in a unanimous decision. He also scored an eight-count against his opponent in the second round. That was the best performance I’ve ever seen of him.
“This will be his second year. Last year he was going to compete in the sub-novice, but then he was hit by a car, so that kind of threw that out the window. (But now) he’s recovered 100 per cent and he’s been going 110 per cent in training. This guy fights three-and-one-half rounds and he’s not even tired. He’s in excellent condition.”
That prime conditioning came in handy two weekends ago in Edmonton, competing in the 60 kg, division.
“I was in the sub-novice tournament and I fought a weight class above because when I weighed in I was below weight,” said Gurlevitch, who weighed in at 55.6 kg one day and 54.1 kg the next day. “I still fought because they can’t do any switching after that.”
Not that it made much of a difference.
“He’s a very strong 14-year-old boy,” said Moline. “He doesn’t go in there and brawl, he goes in there and boxes. He has very effective combinations and he puts them together very well. When he’s not in school, he’s training. He trains four hours a day.”
On Saturday Gurlevitch got the chance to put his skills on display in front of family and friends.
“It’s good,” said Gurlevitch, who as of Saturday had won three of his four bouts. “It means a lot. It’s my ring and I have to keep it that way.”
While putting his stamp on his home ring is the present goal, Moline has gotten the inside scoop on the future goals Gurlevitch has laid out for himself.
“I have heard him mention the Olympics. That’s his goal and I’m not going to stop him,” said Moline with a chuckle. “I’m going to help him every bit I can.”
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