TRUDEAU GIVES TORY A BEATING

Liberal MP pummels senator in charity match as ref stops it in 3rd round

OTTAWA— Justin Trudeau has been caricatured, dismissed and mocked for his bravado, belittled by others for the lack of parliamentary acumen he sometimes brings to the game.

But late Saturday night he proved something. He can punch. He can lay his ego on the line in a much-hyped charity boxing match and come up big, pummelling his trashtalking opponent, Conservative Senator Patrick Brazeau, into submission. He proved something else. “I proved a Liberal can take a punch,’’ Trudeau said, after the bout as he met the media unmarked, barely tousled, not even breathing hard.

It’s was an apt allegory for a party reduced to a Commons rump, a party that has itself been battered, but is still standing.

And it might be a metaphor that interim leader Bob Rae can reinforce, because his Pugilist from Papineau laid an old-fashioned whupping on the cocky Prince of Patronage.

The fight was stopped in the third round as Trudeau, clearly in better condition, absorbed an early knockout bid from Brazeau, then turned on his tormenter with ferocity.

Brazeau emerged with a welt under his eye and a reddened nose, but he didn’t hesitate when asked what hurt most. “Definitely my ego,’’ he said.

Conservatives in the crowd rose in anticipation as Brazeau answered the bell in the first round.

ROUND 1

Brazeau is the early aggressor and comes close to ending it early, but midway through the round the pace slows and he begins to tire.

ROUND 2

Trudeau comes out swinging, landing several blows, including a flurry of punches in the corner.

ROUND 3

The assault continues until the referee calls the fight. Brazeau ends his night with a welt under his eye and a reddened nose.

Justin Trudeau’s grandmother died Thursday at a B.C. care home. Kathleen Sinclair, mother of Margaret Trudeau, died of natural causes. “Thanks for all the kind thoughts,” Trudeau tweeted Saturday morning. “At 92, Gramma’s mind was still strong, but her body slowly shut down. She loved, and was loved, immensely.”

FRED CHARTRAND/THE CANADIAN PRESS Justin Trudeau, left, lays one of his numerous jabs on Patrick Brazeau in Ottawa on Saturday. Despite a slow start, Trudeau dominated the fight. “I proved a Liberal can take a punch,” he said.