Kansas City, here they come
Cape Breton fighters face stiff competition at Ringside World Championships
This week, Mason MacKeigan will step into the ring in front of thousands of fight fans at the Ringside World Championships in Independence, Mo., but things were much different when he joined Tri-Town Boxing Club in September.
The 17-year-old from Florence weighed 300 pounds, and was in search of a lifestyle change. It’s safe to say he found it — MacKeigan is a lean, mean 160 today.
“It’s unreal, I feel way better,” he said. “I didn’t feel right and I needed to do something, so I joined. Then I ended up falling in love with fighting.”
MacKeigan is one of four fighters from the club making the trip to the Ringside tournament. He’ll compete in the subnovice 75 kg division.
“They tell me that it’s going to be a lot different and better competition than usual,” he said. MacKeigan has a 2-2 amateur record.
“It’s thrilling,” he added. “You’re going away to Kansas City to box in front of thousands
of people. It’s awesome. I can’t wait.”
The 2017 Ringside World Championships runs until Saturday. The 17th annual tournament will feature 1,000 bouts and 1,500 fighters competing.
A big draw is the six rings with fights happening at the same time at the Silverstein Eye Centre Arena in Independence, a suburb of Kansas City.
Like MacKeigan, Ryan Collier of Florence will also fight at the Ringside tournament for the first time.
“It really gets your adrenaline going,” he said.
However, the 17-year-old does have some experience on a big stage. He won gold in his division at the Brampton Cup in Brampton, Ont., back in February.
He’ll step into the ring in the novice 81 kg bracket.
“It gives you a bit more of an idea of what to expect,” said Collier, who joined boxing three years ago after starting in taekwondo.
Matt MacDonald and Josh Prince have competed at the tournament before, and are hoping to bring home the championship belt in their respective divisions.
MacDonald said what he took from his first trip last year was to use his movement more. He came up short in a close bout in his opener in 2016.
“I definitely want to come home with the belt for sure,” said the 16-year-old from Florence, who will fight in the junior 66 kg class. “That’s my number one goal.
“It’s fun for sure because we’re pretty close and we’re always training together,” he said of his club mates. “Especially cheering each other on, it’s always a good thing.”
Prince has the most experience at the Ringside event. This will be his third tournament, and said although the competition is stiff, it’s also good learning experience.
He won a silver medal at last year’s tournament, and hopes to turn that to gold this time around. He’ll fight in the youth 75 kg division.
“It’s run well down there and once you walk in, you can feel the energy,” he said. “There are six rings and everyone is there for the same reason.”
The 17-year-old from Georges River has been a frequent flyer as of late in an effort to improve his fight game. He fought in the Haringey Box Cup in London, England, last month, which is described as Europe’s largest senior open amateur boxing event.
“I’m feeling good training,” he said. Prince has fought 27 times over the past five years. “After the London trip, I saw a lot of stuff I had to work on, like throwing more punches and keeping my weight lowered, so I’ve been working on that.”
Also making the trip to the Ringside tournament will be Anton Cremo of Eskasoni. Cremo, who fights out of the Red Tribe Boxing Club, will be coached by Wayne Gordon of Halifax.