It hasn鈥檛 taken long for Elmer Villebrun to make an impact on the provincial youth boxing scene.
The 11-year-old member of the Coyote Fight Club in North Battleford won a title bout in the 90-pound Junior A division April 1 in Regina, as he defeated Idris Merza of the Jaguar Boxing Club at the Battle for the Belts event.
鈥淚 was really happy with how things went,鈥� Villebrun said. 鈥淚 was hoping to get a TKO (technical knockout) win but that didn鈥檛 quite work out that way.
鈥淗is arms were really short, so I was trying to use my long range to my advantage. I used my jab to get him on the ropes and try to hit him there.鈥�
While Villebrun was pleasantly surprised with how he performed, his result wasn鈥檛 a huge surprise to his father and coach Edwin.
鈥淗e鈥檚 been improving every time out,鈥� Edwin Villebrun said. 鈥淲hen you watch him through the training here in practice and how much he鈥檚 watching the old fighters on YouTube, he鈥檚 really becoming a student of the game.
鈥淭he power of his punches have become his strength. The first time he fought, he was getting standing eight-counts from the refs, so we knew that that were something to build on here.鈥�
Elmer鈥檚 showings are becoming a huge building block for the Coyote Fight Club, which opened its doors in November at the Air Cadets Hall.
鈥淲hen they see Elmer coming away with a belt, that just fires up more of our younger guys to get involved in the competitive side of things,鈥� Edwin Villebrun said.
鈥淲e have a couple of guys registered for a bout in Saskatoon on May 6, and they are pretty excited about that.鈥�
Elmer will be competing on that card and will also be going for another belt in Regina on May 12 at the Battle of the Prairies event, which will features fighters from around Western Canada.
鈥淭here鈥檚 still a lot of things that I鈥檓 working on,鈥� Elmer Villebrun said. 鈥淗ow I鈥檓 using my punches is the major thing, as I want to make sure I鈥檓 not throwing them straight at my opponent.鈥�
The Coyote Fight Club currently features 25 members who come out three times a week for workouts.
鈥淚 fought for about 25 years before getting into coaching and I wanted to get involved here to have something for the youth to do,鈥� Edwin Villebrun said.
鈥淚 had seen a story a little while ago about how our area was one of the leaders when it came to youth crime, so I wanted to do something that would motivate our youth to stay out of trouble. So far, it鈥檚 been going well with everyone here. They are working hard and those that are in school have seen their marks go up.鈥�
For more information about the Coyote Fight Club, contact Edwin Villebrun at 306-386-7866.
