Thomas Speirs now knows, officially, who he'll face in his first professional fight.
Speirs, a 22-year-old from the Spruce Capital Boxing Club, will trade punches with Tyler 'The Tornado' Lee during a March 2 card at the Roll-A-Dome. Lee is from Halifax and apparently lives up to his nickname because he likes to descend upon his victims and leave them wondering what hit them.
A description of Lee comes from Michael 'Bunny' Phillips, who is a Halifax-based friend of Spruce Capital coach Wayne Sponagle.
"He [Phillips] said they opened a new gym in Sackville and they had TV and newspaper guys there and were just doing a sparring session and Tyler 'The Tornado' was sparring with another pro and the bell rang and he ran across that ring and just started wailing on the guy," Sponagle said. "So [Phillips] said Thomas is going to have to watch him in the first couple rounds because it could be a brawl. And when two guys are standing there, just swinging wild, anything can happen."
Speirs announced his decision to turn pro in late January. As an amateur, he compiled a 34-7 record.
Speirs is known as a guy who can use his technical skills to pick an opponent apart. But, he's just as comfortable throwing bombs so his bout with Lee won't be short on entertainment. The fight will be in the 172-pound weight class and is scheduled for four rounds. Sponagle said Speirs and Lee will both receive $1,400 for their work.
The fight card will include 10 matches and will be sanctioned by the British Columbia Combative Sports Association, also known as Combsport. Earlier this week, the card received final approval from the Prince George Athletic Commission.
Combsport offers what Sponagle calls "pro-style amateur boxing," which sees fighters go without protective head gear. Aside from the pro bout between Speirs and Lee, Sponagle said the night will feature a mix "pro-style" fights and amateur contests.
"There will be five or six fights with no head gear and no tank tops," he said. "They'll be just like pro fights -- they'll be refereed like pro fights and judged like pro fights.
"I'm guaranteeing that people will see the best boxing show they've seen in years. There will be knockouts."
Other Spruce Capital fighters slated for action on March 2 include Marcus Hume, Hank Lukan, Derek Ellerton, Bruce Whall and George Davies. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and boxing will start at 7 p.m.
Tickets -- available at Westwood Sports Pub, Downtown Fitness Studio and Rocky Mountain Fitness -- will go on sale today.
