Actions tend to speak louder than words and there should be plenty of the former after experiencing some of the latter at the official weigh-in Thursday for the No Guts, No Glory kickboxing card being held tonight at Pearkes Arena.
At least promoter Stan Peterec better hope so as the weigh-in had to be described as relatively calm, with just a hint of trash-talking, which usually comes with the territory.
A mutual respect was felt between most competitors, especially for the main event between super middleweights Chase Ingalls of Campbell River and Burlington, Ont.鈥檚, Adam Weber, who will duke it out Muay Thai style for the International Kickboxing Federation world amateur title.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something that is super meaningful, super spiritual. There鈥檚 nothing like having that energy of not only friends and family, but people who dearly like the sport and have followed you,鈥� Ingalls, who weighed in at 165 pounds, said of fighting on the Island in front of a pro-Ingalls crowd.
鈥淚鈥檝e had 20 fights and they鈥檝e seen that and there鈥檚 nothing like that support. That鈥檚 what I get addicted to.
鈥淭his fight means more to me emotionally, since my last fight was my first loss,鈥� added the 25-year-old Ingalls (22-1). 鈥淓veryone has their issues to get through and go through their problems. This one, emotionally, was taken very seriously.
鈥淚 started training in January; I鈥檝e cut 30 pounds and the world title is nothing to mess with, in my mind, and it鈥檚 something that I hold serious. I鈥檓 very looking forward to showcasing the craft.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 already been a victory in my mind since I accepted the fight and I don鈥檛 see anything other than that,鈥� he said, finally getting to a little trash-talking.
Weber is listed with a 17-0 record, but it鈥檚 10-0 in the discipline of kickboxing and he comes in as a bit of the villain, flying in from the East.
鈥淚鈥檝e had this before,鈥� said Weber, who weighed in at 163.5 lbs. 鈥淢y first amateur MMA fight was in Buffalo, New York. I went in against the home-town hero kind of guy, so I had lots of things shouted at me. I鈥檓 used to that kind of treatment.鈥�
Weber won that fight.
鈥淗e鈥檚 very good,鈥� he said of Ingalls. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a classy opponent, who knows what he鈥檚 doing. He鈥檚 got a very god Muay Thai style of kickboxing. It should be a very good fight, one of my toughest opponents, for sure.鈥�
Victoria鈥檚 Greg Lamothe (146 lbs) challenges Petr Dourak (144 lbs) of the Czech Republic in a Canadian amateur welterweight championship and Tim (Packman) Packer (130.5 lbs) of Victoria faces Ontario鈥檚 Shawn Bauile (128 lbs) in a Canadian lightweight title bout.
Peterec had to do some fancy footwork for the card as three fights were cancelled due to various reasons. The much anticipated Landon Larson vs. Jimmy Nygne matchup was among those, thanks to a broken foot.
鈥淭hat was a tough one to lose,鈥� Peterec said. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 ever want to lose title fights and I feel sorry for Landon, but we鈥檒l make that happen, maybe in two or three months we鈥檒l get them back.
鈥淭im Packer stepped up against Shawn and they鈥檒l do that five-rounder for a Canadian crown so we still have three titles, so that will be good. Chase is 22-1 and Adam is 17-0, so I鈥檓 looking forward to that. I don鈥檛 know much about Adam, but I know a lot about Chase. That will be an exciting fight,鈥� added Peterec.
鈥淭hen you have Greg taking on a guy with 50 fights, who should be a pro. I think Greg will come out on top. He鈥檚 wanted this one bad and I鈥檓 hoping we can keep all the belts on the Island,鈥� Peterec said.
Two women鈥檚 fights are included on the undercard as Meaghan Stewart (181.5 lbs) takes on Anita Baker (178.5 lbs) and Kaitlynn Jorgensen (129 lbs) faces Kaitlyn Routlidge (132.5 lbs). Matt Goodwin (138 lbs) tackles Jordan Kinaird (133.5 lbs) and Kieran Mueller (123 lbs) scraps Carlo Chua (122.5 lbs) in the other undercard matchups.
鈥淲ith the other fights, you never know what you鈥檙e going to get from first-timers. I鈥檓 not going to lie to you, but you never know, sometimes they can steal a show,鈥� said Peterec.
The doors open at 6 p.m. and the bouts fire up at 6:30 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at Peterec鈥檚 gym or online at victoriaticket.ca.
