Williams Lake boxer Stuart McLellan improved his professional record to 11 wins, no losses and three draws late June while making his debut at welterweight, a drop in weight for the pugilist.
McLellan, 27 — the Eastern Canadian champion and the NBA Maritime Title holder at middleweight — forced Vancouver’s Steve Conkin’s corner to throw in the towel in the early stages of the third round of a scheduled six-round, 145-pound bout, hosted June 26 at the Deerfoot Inn and Casino in Calgary, Alta.
“I felt really strong in there,” McLellan said. “It’s definitely the weight I should be at. The eight-ounce gloves are nice, too. Felt a little faster and it was nice not having the other guy be so strong.”
During McLellan’s last several fights at middleweight he said his opponents, come fight time, massively out weighed him.
He added Conkin, an old friend of his, put up a good fight.
“I was just going to feel him out,” he said. “That’s what I did the first two round. He started to tire out a bit and figured I could get him in third and that’s what I did. He was tough and came to fight.”
The fight was also Conkin’s farewell and retirement bout.
“He’s an old friend of mine,” he said. “We had a couple of dinners before [the fight], hung out and had some laughs. It’s kind of weird beating up your friends but he was no slouch. He’s had about 70 amateur fights.”
McLellan said up next he’s hoping to line up a fight in October in Halifax and, possibly, a Canadian title fight at welterweight next winter.