He's not retiring from boxing, but an exhausted Kenny Lally is stepping away from Team Canada for at least a year.
Lally, a 24-year-old Prince George pugilist, has been a member of the senior national team for three years and, before that, spent the same amount of time on Canada's junior team. He made his decision last week, while on the way home from Kelowna, where he and coach Bob Pegues had attended a Team B.C. training camp.
"When I was hitting the bag and stepping in the ring, I just didn't want to be there," Lally said.
"I need a break. I've been going too hard lately. My head, my body -- everything needs a rest."
Last month, Lally represented Canada at the International Boxing Association world championships in Kazakhstan. In the 56-kilogram class, he lost his opening fight to Nicolae Andreianna of Romania (a 3-0 decision) and was eliminated from the tournament. Lally said he was 100 per cent focused and ready in Kazakhstan but Pegues said Team Canada coaches saw things differently.
"They felt that he just didn't seem to have any fire -- that he was tired of it," Pegues said.
Lally, who trains locally at the Inner City Boxing Club, can't be blamed for feeling fatigued.
"This whole year has been non-stop and I haven't had a chance to just relax," he said. "I've been to six different countries on three continents and just got back from worlds. I was supposed to go to a final team selection [this week in Quebec City] and made a decision I'm not going to go. I'm just mentally not ready."
Lally has informed Daniel Trepanier, high performance director for Boxing Canada, of his decision. Pegues has also been in contact with Trepanier.
"I phoned him to get his take and make sure no bridges were burned and he got it," Pegues said. "He totally got it."
While on sabbatical from Team Canada, Lally will miss the 2014 Commonwealth Games, July 23 to Aug. 3 in Glasgow, Scotland. He will, however, continue to train and fight, including at an international card May 3 in Prince George. Boxers from the U.S. and Ireland are scheduled to attend.
During his break from Team Canada, Lally wants to add some bulk and power to his frame. He plans to be ready for the senior national championships in 2015. A win there would qualify him for the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, which would hopefully act as a springboard to the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Lally's career record is 90-15. He won his first national championship at the age of 15 and has a total of five Canadian titles to his credit. In his weight class, he's the three-time defending senior national champ.
For Lally, life as a boxer has been a long but rewarding haul.
"The way Bob put it to me, he said you look at life as a tape measure, and from when I was 13 to 24, that part of the tape measure is done," Lally said. "And that has been an amazing ride as a fighter. So many punches, but it's been amazing -- the people you meet, the skills you learn, and I've seen the world. It's been an amazing trip and it's not done yet."
