Fighting half blind, Williams Lake professional boxer Stuart McLellan pounded out a unanimous decision last Friday over Vancouver’s Antonio Dos Santos.
McLellan, still unbeaten with a professional record of 12-0-3, caught a thumb to the eye during the first 35 seconds of the fight, causing him problems with his sight throughout the bout.
“I couldn’t really see too well after that,” the 28-year-old McLellan said. “It was hard to time him.”
The fight, which took place in the 154-pound light middleweight division at the Chinese Cultural Centre in Calgary, saw judges award McLellan a 60-54 win on all three score cards.
“I put a serious beating on him, though, but couldn’t get him out of there,” McLellan said.
“He’s a tough guy. He keeps in really good shape … he’s a lot better than he looks on paper and he gives everybody trouble he fights because of his awkward style. He’s what you call a spoiler, for sure.”
With the loss Dos Santos — a friend and past training partner of McLellan’s — falls to two wins, eight losses and no draws in his professional career.
“It was good to see him again,” McLellan said. “And I know I can fight blind if I have to, but it’s just something that happens. It’s good to know you can push through it and come out on top.”
McLellan — the Eastern Canadian Champion and the Maritime Champion at middleweight — said he hopes to line up another fight for January in Halifax.
“If not that I’ll just have to shop around and find something,” he said. “The more I’m active the easier it is to get fights because your name’s out there.”