Due to circumstances beyond his control, Thomas Speirs won't be making his professional debut. But, he'll still be throwing bombs in the main event, in front of a hometown crowd.
Tonight at the Roll-A-Dome, live boxing will make its return to the city after an absence of almost a year. The Prince George Explosion fight card, organized by Wayne Sponagle of the Spruce Capital Boxing Club, will feature 10 bouts and will be headlined by a tilt between Speirs and Ken Huber of Kamloops.
In late January, the 22-year-old Speirs announced his intention to turn pro. Originally, he was supposed to battle fellow professional Tyler Lee tonight but that match didn't come to fruition because the Halifax-based Lee suffered an injury during training. Sponagle then arranged for his boxer to face Keith McGraw of Bathurst, N.B. However, McGraw's handlers failed to submit necessary medical documentation to the Prince George Athletic Commission so that bout fell through as well.
Enter Huber, who traded blows with Speirs last March at the Northern Sport Centre in the Laurie Mann Tribute card. That night, Speirs was the better of the two boxers and was awarded the victory.
Even though he's disappointed he won't be fighting as a professional tonight, Speirs is determined to beat Huber again.
"I'm going to be punching a little bit harder and going for a stoppage," Speirs said. "I'm going to show everyone why I should be turning pro."
The six-foot, 180-pound Speirs will have his hands full. Huber, who stands five-foot-11 and checks in at 195 pounds, is Boxing B.C.'s reigning heavyweight champion and also holds the B.C. Combative Sports Association (Combsport) cruiserweight title. Since his loss to Speirs last year, he has won four consecutive fights, while Speirs, by comparison, hasn't been back in the ring for real. He has had difficulties finding an opponent so he has only sparred with boxers from his own club.
Speirs, a 2012 national silver-medalist, isn't concerned about being rusty.
"I'm trained and I'm ready to do what I do," said Speirs, who can box just as well as he can brawl. "He's a big guy but nothing I can't handle. This will be my 43rd fight so I've been in there with a lot of guys. I can move good enough and punch hard enough for bigger guys than him."
The fight -- sanctioned by Combsport -- is scheduled for five, two-minute rounds. And, even though it will be classed as an amateur bout, it will have the look and feel of a pro contest because neither fighter will be wearing protective head gear or a tank top.
As for Huber, he can't wait to get another shot at Speirs.
"He's one of only three people to ever beat me, and since he beat me I've wanted the rematch real bad," said the 29-year-old. "Our first fight I took on two days' notice so I wasn't in very good shape. This time, I've put in a solid training camp and I'm feeling pretty good so I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to rematch him."
Huber describes himself as a guy who likes to take the initiative in his fights.
"I've got a come-forward style," he said. "I'm about as tough as they come -- I'm not a real talented boxer but I put 100 per cent heart in everything I do. I think I'm just getting started on where I'm going to be as a boxer."
The Prince George Explosion card will start at 7 p.m. Doors will open one hour earlier. Tickets will be available at the door and can be purchased in advance at Westwood Sports Pub, Downtown Fitness Studio and Rocky Mountain Fitness.
