TORONTO – Six Nations’ Karl “Razor” Hess cut down his first open class opponent at the infamous Cabbagetown Boxing Club which has produced some of Canada’s top professional boxers.
Hess has moved up the Canadian Boxing ladder and is now fighting as an open class boxer. That means the rounds are now three minutes instead of two, and the fighters do not wear headgear. It’s a big step towards the professional ranking which Hess intends to go for.
That showed in Toronto over the weekend when Hess scored a second round TKO over much touted Sam Gainer fighting under the Cabbagetown banner.
“I can’t tell you how proud I am of Karl,” his coach Jackie Armour of the Black-Eye-Boxing Club, said after the fight. “This was the best I have seen him since 2012. He stuck to the fight plan and boxed the more experienced fighter. His footwork was great, he was moving his head, slipping a lot of his opponent’s shots.”
With a good mix of powerful body shots and head shots, Hess got Gainer in trouble 45 seconds into the first round. Hess came on again late in the round and was doing damage when the bell rang.
In the second round “Razor” turned it on and scored back-to-back standing eight counts before the referee stopped the fight.
Armour will keep “Razor” sharp by keeping him active as he moves up in the open class ratings.
“The next big test will be the Brampton Cup Tournament in February,” says Armour. “He won it last year but as a novice class fighter. This year he is open class and will be up against more experienced boxer, but Armour has no doubt Hess will fare well in this new environment.”
