Richmond Review Nv 2007 Next Generation Top Female Fighter
8:31pm Thursday, Nov 22
Diamond in the rough
By Don Fennell - Richmond Review - November 21, 2007
Gina Skopelitis won the women’s B.C. middleweight boxing championship last weekend.
by Mark Patrick photo
They say diamonds are a girl’s best friend.
Gina Skopelitis might agree. Only the diamond she acquired last weekend was in the form of a boxing championship.
Cell: 778.322.2195
r the tutelage of coaches Mark Friedman and Jeff Witas of Richmond’s Next Generation
Boxing, Skopelitis, at 132 pounds, won the women’s provincial middleweight title at the Diamond Belt tournament Saturday in
Cloverdale.
“It was (rewarding) to have my first attempt at winning a title be successful,” she said.
Skopelitis, who prefers to do her talking in the ring, defeated a boxer from the Astoria Boxing Club by a technical knockout in the second round of a scheduled three-round bout.
SeleSelected the “Diamond Girl” as the tournament’s best fighter, she is now 7-1 and is generally considered, along with City Boxing’s Sarah Pucek, to be one of the two top female boxers in the region. She and Pucek have fought twice, each beating the other.
u before giving boxing a try. She says she enjoys boxing more, suggesting that jujitsu “is more like grappling.”
w, I’m working on improving my (boxing) technique,” she explains.
“Gina has great power and is going to definitely be a good pro (which she aspires to be),” Friedman said. “She has the heart and desire (to become a world champion).”
Richmond Review November 21 - Next Generation
8:24pm Thursday, Nov 22
Guts and glory
By Don Fennell - Richmond Review - November 21, 2007
Local fighter Louis Sargent, 168 pounds, became the super middleweight boxing champion of Washington state by beating Luis Lopez last weekend in Ferndale.
by Mark Patrick photo
Louis Sargent considers himself to be a brawler at heart.
“I like the guts and glory (of having to battle it out to succeed),” he explains.
He was a sprinter throughout high school, so he knows that every little bit counts.
But while he can brawl with the best of them, Sargent is also well-schooled in the sweet science. He can box technically just as well as he can exchange punch-for-punch.
After a self-imposed retirement from boxing, which lasted five years, he successfully returned to the ring in June with a victory over American Manny Castillo in Washington. In July, he was equally impressive on a card at the River Rock Casino Resort.
Last weekend, he became the Washington state champion in the super middleweight division—the first Canadian to ever hold that title. He beat Luis Lopez for the belt in a seven-rounder.
“It was a dream-come-true,” says Sargent, a local athlete who trains with his coach, Mark Friedman, in Richmond.
“You train hard and one day you get a belt. Now, I’m ready for more.”
Anyone who knows Sargent, 36, appreciates how hard he trains. And they know he is also able to rely on his power.
For his bout against Lopez, he listened to his coach’s advice and prepared by doing a lot of cardio work.
“I’m 4-0 training with these guys (Friedman and Jeff Witas),” he says.
“They’re always trying to make me a better boxer.”
Sargent’s immediate plans include shedding a few pounds so that he can fight for the Canadian middleweight crown.
In the meantime, he is also preparing for a pay-per-view bout Dec. 28 at the River Rock Casino Resort against Junior Moar, who is coached by Manny Sobral. The four-round match is being billed as the battle of the Richmond boys.
