Colton Bilawchuk came out with a strong opening round in his boxing debut Friday in Langley.
For the first two-minute round of their scheduled three-round fight, the 21-year-old Spruce Capital Warriors Boxing Club looked like he was heading for victory against Dieter Vincent of Victoria, his 147-pound opponent.
But it was a different story in the second round. Vincent landed a hard right hand that knocked the wind out of Bilawchuk and he never recovered, losing a unanimous three-round decision.
"Colton's fight was just like a pro fight, the guy he was fighting wanted to fight with no tank top and no head gear and Colton said sure -- it was a very tough fight," said Spruce Capital coach Wayne Sponagle.
"Colton went out in the first round and I thought he was going to have an easy fight. He picked the guy apart and I don't think (Vincent) hit him three times in the first round. Colton looked like a million dollars but halfway through the second round he got caught with a body shot and it kind of sucked the life out of him. The guy knew he had to turn it on and he really barnstormed Colton and Colton got very tired in the third round."
The fight card in Langley also marked the boxing debut of 15-year-old Spruce Capital fighter Jason Nahal. Nahal took on Manraj Dhanoa of Vancouver in a 125-pound bout and lost a unanimous decision.
"Jason did excellent, it was a very close fight," said Sponagle.
Sponagle said the fights should serve as a wakeup call for both of his fighters of the importance of not missing workouts when preparing for a fight.
"Both boys fought beautiful and lost close decisions -- they both got tired in the third round," said Sponagle.
"They're both in good shape but they realize now they've got to do more running and they have to train harder. They missed too many nights (in the gym) and now they understand."
Patrick Akinbay of Spruce Capital was scheduled to be on the card for his first-ever bout but got sick with a virus earlier in the week, which kept him out of the ring.
