Jag Seehra can train all he wants with elastic tension bands, long-distance runs and marathon sparring sessions with Canadian boxing champion Kenny Lally.
There's nothing to simulate the invisible opponent Seehra will face in the ring next month at the Pan-American Games qualifying tournament in Quito, Equador. At 2,850 metres above sea level, Quito has the distinction as the world's second-highest capital city, second only to La Paz, Bolivia.
What that means to Seehra, who lives and trains in Prince George (elevation 676 metres) is his blood will have a diminished oxygen-carrying capacity in Quito. In fact, according to Family Medicine Principles and Practice, he stands a nine per cent chance of developing high-altitude sickness.
It's all strange science to Seehra, a 21-year-old Inner City Boxing Club fighter, who needs to win at least a bronze medal in his 60-kilogram division to earn a spot with Team Canada for the Pan-Am Games in October in Guadalajara, Mexico. The tournament starts May 2.
"I have no idea what to expect, I've never had to work through the elements of high elevation," said Seehra. "They keep telling me how bad it's going to be, but I'm going to be fit and ready for the worst. Hopefully I'll come out with good results."
Seehra lost his only bout a month ago at the first Pan-Am qualifier in Cumana, Venezuela. The fight against lefthander Julio Laguna of Nicaragua was stopped by the referee in the second round when Seehra was unable to stem the flow of a bloody nose. At the time of the decision, Seehra was ahead by two points, with 10 seconds left in the second round. Had he won that bout, he would have qualified for the Pan-Am Games.
"That was an eyeopener for me," said Seehra. "You have the best of the best people there and it was the best experience I could have had. It's made me into a better boxer now and I'm excited to go to Ecuador because I've seen all the guys in my weight class compete. The guys who didn't win are coming to this qualifier."
Lally fought in Quito a year ago at the Elite Continental championships, where he won a silver medal, and, despite his success, there was no ducking the effects of altitude.
"It's going to test Jag for sure, but ever since he's come back from Venezuela I've seen a big change in him," said Lally. "His confidence level has gone up, his technique is better -- he's dangerous now."
Seehra and Lally have been building up their intensity in training at the Northern Sport Centre to prepare for their national team commitments
"We're back on the stretch bands hardcore like we were before we went to the nationals and they are on a two-days on, one-day off training program that's pretty intense," said Inner City coach Bob Pegues. "Jag will be ready. He's got to win at least a bronze medal to make it. If not, there may be one more [qualifying tournament] in Colombia in early June."
Seehra's sparring partner also has a busy schedule ahead of him. Lally, 21, will be in Regina May 2 for the Ken Goff Memorial tournament, where he will be matched against Khalid Yafai, the English 52kg champion and two-time European champion who competed in the 2008 Olympics last year at the Commonwealth Games.
"When I went to the [cadet] worlds in Liverpool when I was 15 he won my weight class," said Lally. "In all my schedules I'm fighting the top guys and that's what I need. I'm at that level now and I have to see where I have to be."
Lally will also travel to Puerto Rico in June for a national team training camp, then return to Prince George for two weeks before a return trip to Puerto Rico for the Cheo Aponte Cup, which will feature the best fighters from the Americas. He is also entered in the AIBA world championships in September in Azerbaijan. A top-10 finish there would guarantee Lally an Olympic team spot.
"Fighting the best competition only makes me better," said Lally. "This is what boxing to me is all about, it's not about going to a club show or being the best in B.C., it's about being on the world scene. That's the rush, and it's the reason I do this sport."
