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Lally defeats German champion

Kenny Lally unveiled his new weapon in the boxing ring Saturday night in Frankfurt, Germany. It was his right uppercut, and he wasn't shy about showing it to the chin of his opponent, three-time German champion Helmut Badea.

Kenny Lally unveiled his new weapon in the boxing ring Saturday night in Frankfurt, Germany.

It was his right uppercut, and he wasn't shy about showing it to the chin of his opponent, three-time German champion Helmut Badea.

In what he called one of his easiest fights, Lally scored an 8-3 decision and left the ring with his hands raised in triumph, the only one of six Canadians to earn a victory Saturday in the dual match fight card.

"(Badea) was the veteran of the team, being a three-time national champion and Kenny kicked his butt," said Bob Pegues, Lally's Inner City Boxing Club coach.

"The guy had great defence but Kenny kept scoring over and over with his right uppercut. He said it was never in doubt and it felt like one of the easiest fights he's ever had. He stuck with his in-an-out style and (Badea) couldn't come near him.

"Kenny said it was no problem, he was so much stronger than this guy."

Lally spent 10 days in September at a national team training camp in Alberta, where he worked with national coach Daniel Trepanier specifically to develop his uppercut and that turned Saturday's 52-kilogram fight in Lally's favour.

"He kept working with it and scoring with it," said Pegues.

Lally began the German tour of his boxing career on Wednesday in Cottbus, near Berlin, where he and German regional champion Hamza Touba fought to a 5-5 three-round draw. As it turned out, the international draw will count like victory for both fighters. Combined with his win over Badea, that should help raise Lally's stock with Boxing Canada when it comes to national and Olympic team selections.

"We're trying to get every international point possible," said Pegues. "(To be considered for the Olympic team) you need to win at least 40 per cent of your international and Kenny's average is now about 90 per cent."

Lally was left off Canada's Commonwealth Games team when Boxing Canada decided not to send fighters from the lighter weight classes, based on previous unfavourable Commonwealth results.

"Kenny was the only Canadian to win his fight Saturday and they were saying he should have been at the Commonwealth Games," Pegues said.