Edmonton Journal

Boxing provides emotional break for fire evacuees

- ROBERT MURRAY

SLAVE LAKE Lee Tanghe can relate to the feeling of being on the ropes in more ways than one.

A lifelong resident of Slave Lake and the head coach of Slave Lake Boxing Club, Tanghe and his family lost their homes to wildfires that devastated the town in 2011.

Saturday, Tanghe and the town packed the Slave Lake Inn and Conference Centre five years to the day when those fires first flared up.

But as much as the now-annual Diamond Belt Championsh­ip event has become a staple to a region with fresh memories, boxing has been there for Tanghe and the residents as a distractio­n.

“We just kept going,” said Tanghe. “(The fires) actually happened a day after our (2011) Diamond Belt.

“We actually got more people out, coming to boxing, just for the fitness to take their mind off of all the rebuilding.”

Saturday’s event wasn’t just another chance for Slave Lake to heal a little bit more and get back to a normal life. It was a chance to pay it forward to Blake McPhee and Perry Felderhof, two McMurrayit­es from the Sweet Science Boxing Club undergoing their own evacuation.

“It was pretty much all that was on my mind as to how I was going to get training in and how I would get here to box,” said Felderhof, who lost a split decision to an opponent from Edmonton’s Cougar Boxing Club.

“I was as ready as I could be. I had a pretty confident mindset coming into the fight and thought I did pretty well considerin­g everything.”

McPhee didn’t fight because his opponent wasn’t able to get to Slave Lake, but his road to getting back into the ring did have some certainty establishe­d to it Saturday, with new invitation­s to fight in Edmonton and Calgary in June.

“Now I have a fight to look forward so I’m pretty stoked, actually,” McPhee added.

Where the uncertaint­y lies for McMurrayit­es, the Slave Lake community did what they could to help. The Sweet Science team was provided rooms in the hotel and a portion of the proceeds from T-shirts for sale, which ended up totalling close to $300.

“They ’ve been through it so they know how we feel,” said Cory Pye, the head coach at Sweet Science Boxing.

A drop in the bucket for the estimated $9 billion in losses in Fort McMurray, every little bit helps.

Still not knowing a re-entry date, the club’s future was as much on the mind of Pye as was the status of his boxers Saturday.

“I don’t know how bad it’s going to be,” he added. “It’s hard to say right now.”

The lesson Tanghe has learned many times over is that when one is on the ropes, they’re bound to bounce back.

“Life doesn’t stop. We can’t dwell on the past; you have to look to the future and just keep going forward.”

 ?? ROBERT MURRAY ?? Perry Felderhof of Fort McMurray lost a split decision to his Edmontonba­sed opponent at the Diamond Belt Championsh­ip on Saturday in Slave Lake.
ROBERT MURRAY Perry Felderhof of Fort McMurray lost a split decision to his Edmontonba­sed opponent at the Diamond Belt Championsh­ip on Saturday in Slave Lake.

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