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McLellan captures Canadian 154-pound title

Stuart McLellan can now add the title of Canadian champion to his boxing resumé.
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Stuart McLellan celebrates after winning the Canadian Professional Boxing Council 154-pound title last Friday night in Calgary after a 10-round split decision over Calgary’s Janks Trotter.

Stuart McLellan can now add the title of Canadian champion to his boxing resumé.

The Williams Lake pugilist captured the Canadian Professional Boxing Council 154-pound title in a split decision Friday following a 10-round war with Janks Trotter in his home town at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino in Calgary.

Judges scored the bout 99-91 Trotter, 99-91 McLellan and a more reasonable 96-94 McLellan during the event, Teofista Boxing Series 18.

“It wasn’t easy,” McLellan told the Tribune Tuesday.

“I stuck to exactly what my game plan was — to move for four or five rounds until he started slowing down a bit then start picking up the pace.”

McLellan avoided Trotter’s power early in the fight, before settling in with a quick and precise counterpunching strategy in the later rounds to tilt the bout in his favour.

“He was very predictable,” McLellan said, noting he was able to take advantage of his opponent charging forward the entire fight.

“I think the difference was he’s never been 10 rounds and assumes he’s going to knock everyone out and usually does.”

With the win McLellan improves to a professional record of 13 wins, two losses and three draws. Trotter, meanwhile, slips to nine wins, three losses and one draw.

McLellan also ascends to a top-20 world ranking in the 154-pound division, a weight class he moved up to for the fight.

“This is a really good weight for me,” he said. “One-hundred-fifty-four is where I feel comfortable.”

Considered a large underdog by many heading into the fight, McLellan said he was confident. He attributed some of his success to former Commonwealth Games boxing champion, Edmonton’s Tony Badea, who McLellan worked with two weeks prior to the fight.

“That really paid off,” he said. “I had faith and knew I was going to win the whole time. I think the biggest upset was it went the distance.”

He also thanked his corner for their work during the fight: Eric De Guzman, Williams Lake Boxing Club coach Gary McLellan and Chris Cousineau.

“They laid it down perfectly,” he said.

Asked what it means to him to become a Canadian champion, McLellan said it’s a good feeling.

“When you’re young you’re always thinking about world titles,” he said.

“But after it [a Canadian championships] evaded me all this time it means a lot to get it on the third try. It means a lot because I didn’t fight a nobody for it.”



Greg Sabatino

About the Author: Greg Sabatino

Greg Sabatino graduated from Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 2008.
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