Kenny Lally's furious finishing flurry was right out of the Tasmanian devil school of boxing.
When all the dust had settled, Jose Javiar, his Brazilian opponent at the Cheo Aponte Cup tournament in Caguas, Puerto Rico scarcely knew what hit him.
Leading by two points after two rounds in Wednesday's bout, with his bruised shoulder searing with pain, Lally finished off Javiar with a three-minute outburst that tacked eight more points on to his total -- a 17-9 decision that guaranteed Lally a bronze medal.
"He's on the Brazilian A-team, probably ranked top-15 in the world, he's one of the best guys and I stomped him," said Lally, 21, a member of the Inner City Boxing Club in Prince George.
The dark side of Wednesday's victory for Lally is his bruised shoulder forced him to drop out of the tournament, denying him a chance to fight for gold in the 52-kilogram weight class. Last weekend in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Lally won a bronze medal in the Copa Olimpico tournament but was injured in the process.
"In my second fight [in San Juan] I hurt my shoulder and I was off for five days and I reinjured it, so now I can't fight for five days," Lally said. [Javiar] hurt it again in the first round [of Wednesday's bout. I came back in the corner and my coach said, 'Do you want me to stop it?' but it was tied and I said I'd see what I can do for one more round. I went out for the round and this guy kept low-blowing me, so the ref took a point off him.
"My shoulder was killing me, but I told my coach, 'I can do this' and I went into a zone and blocked everything out. He kept coming at me in the third round with his hands up, like he was desperate, and as soon as he would miss I'd hit him back with three or four punches. This guy had a chin, I hit him with my best shots and he was just standing right in front of me."
The two latest additions to his medal collection will serve as reminders of how far Lally has climbed on the international boxing scene.
"I'm fighting the best guys on this side of the world and I came in third place both times and I've done my job, people know who I am now," said Lally, his arm resting in a sling.
"I wish I could have gone on but I've got the worlds in two months (in Azerbaijan) and I need this to heal. I got a bronze medal and I'm happy with my performances. Two bronze medals down here is pretty good.
"I've been through a lot down here. Cutting weight [on short notice to make his weight class the day after he arrived in San Juan in the Copa Olimpico tournament], there was a lot of pressure on me and I overcame it and feel good."
