Smoke's Rant: Kenny Lally Makes PG Proud at PanAm Games

Lally The PanAm games recently finished in Toronto with an astounding showing by Canada racking up 217. One of those Canadians that made our nation proud, and more specially, our northern city proud was boxer Kenny Lally. I mean let's be honest, Prince George is a beautiful town, but we are also a tough town. It's about time that we have a champion fighter to try and combat Williams Lake and Quesnel, who can boast that they have perennial #1 contender Rory MacDonald in the UFC. Boxing is the oldest and most prized fighting in the world. When there is a big fight, the world stops to watch as the next icon makes there way to squared gladiator arena to entertain the masses in a physical chess match the would make Bobby Fisher roll in his grave in fright. Now the new wave of Gladiators enter the ring, and this time Canada has one of the best fighters in the world. Kenny Lally is a 6 time national champion and has made huge strides to gaining a spot in the Olympics. His quarter-final match against Ecuador's Padilla Segundo was fast paced and exciting. The Canadian champ ended up with a split-decision call to earn a spot in the semi-finals against Cuban boxing sensation Andy Cruz. Unfortunately for Lally, he couldn't muster any sustained offense against the Cuban, who looked like he could have tried out for the Justice League as the scarlet speedster. Despite the fact that the casual observer believes that offense wins bouts, elite level boxing uses a lot more strategy and angles. Look at Floyd Mayweather or even Lally's idol Muhammed Ali, both fighters used their speed and angles to frustrate opponents before going in for the kill. Cuban fighters in Lally's division are the gold standard, but Lally has been one of the only Canadians to be successful as he defeated a Cuban during the Continental Championships in 2010. Even though he fell short against Cruz (the eventual gold medal winner), he captured the bronze medal at the games and has gained incredible momentum when he continues to make his bid for the Brazil Olympics in 2016. Lally's next tournament is in the middle of August when he knocks heads off in Venezuela. But, before he makes that journey, he is training hard in his hometown of Prince George, as well as making his debut on The Smoke Show on Wednesday. I will have the honor to sit down with Kenny Lally to talk about the PanAm games, the upcoming Continental Games, his training regime, and his debate between boxing and MMA. Listen live on Wednesday at 4pm for all the action.