Kenny Lally defeated Hector Luis Garcia of the Dominican Republic Sunday at the IABA American tournament in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which moved the Prince George boxer one step closer to qualifying for the 2016 Olympics.
Lally, who spent the past month in Montreal with the national team training for the Olympic qualifier, called it the best fight of his 123-match amateur boxing career.
"I fought this guy (last year at the Cheo Aponte Cup tournament in Puerto Rico) and he beat the crap out of me," said Lally, a six-time national champion. "This time I stuck to my game-plan and I kept moving. He had to keep readjusting and I picked him apart. It was a split decision but I was in control the whole fight."
Garcia, the 56-kilogram silver medalist at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, was ranked No. 2 in the Americas tournament and was 11th-ranked in the world.
"I sent a huge shock wave," said Lally. "To date, that was the best fight I've ever had. Everything was working. My best round was the last round, I won the fight with an exclamation mark."
Lally advances to a quarterfinal round match-up Wednesday against Jose Diaz Azocar of Venezuela. Only the top two fighters qualify for the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Lally needs two more wins to lock up one of those berths.
Lally came close to making it to the 2012 Olympics in London but lost in the quarterfinal round of the Continental championships. He fought at the 2015 Pan Am Games and won a bronze medal.
