Jaster’s Jabberings: Big risk pays off with title shot for Harding

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/12/2016 (3202 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Noel Harding took a big risk this year and it may pay off this weekend.

Frustrated by only getting six fights since becoming a professional boxer in 2010, the Brandon Boxing Club owner, who turns 37 years old this week, wanted to increase his standing in the world. After defeating Lee Laquette in Saskatoon in February, Harding decided to ply his trade in Mexico, where boxing is more popular.

Despite not having a ton of funding or sponsors and the winner’s purse not evening covering the cost of his flights, the Brandonite made five trips south and won every bout down there by knockout or technical knockout. Now he has a chance to earn a championship belt.

Harding is scheduled to fight Victor Marquez for a regional middleweight title in Mexico on Saturday. Marquez has sparred with and fought Canelo Alvarez, who has held the World Boxing Organization’s light middleweight title since September, and Harding expects him to be a tough opponent.

This year has been difficult with Harding trying to balance his personal expenses with his career and still run the club, and he hopes a win would do great things for him.

“If I can win this, it would be a big stepping stone in my career,” he said. “It would bring me closer to big paydays and big fights. I’m looking forward to the bout. It’s going to be a tough bout, I know my opponent and have seen him fight. He’s a well-known Mexican boxer. If I can win it, it will lead to big things, I hope.

“This is the whole point. I’m trying to build my record up to get a big payday and a big fight. This title fight is just one more step in that direction.”

Winning the Costa del Pacifico belt would go a long way for Harding, who hopes to add a Canadian championship to his collection in the new year.

13th BSSI more than a basketball tournament

This is a busy time of year for a lot of people. Some are doing last-minute shopping (myself included), while university students are looking forward to going home for the holidays but also cramming for exams. High school students are looking forward to their holiday break as well, but there’s one more big event on the city’s high school sports calendar.

The 13th annual Brandon Sun Spartan Invitational varsity boys’ basketball tournament runs from Thursday to Saturday at Neelin, Vincent Massey, Crocus Plains, New Era and the Healthy Living Centre. The 32-team event is one of the first competitions of the season for teams and a great way for teams to learn about themselves and opposing squads.

However, this year’s event has a slightly different feel to it. Since four teachers at Neelin, and other former teachers, whose families have directly been affected by various forms of cancer and the tournament have adopted the theme of “Fight for the Cure” is also being used to raise funds for the Canadian Cancer Society.

Neelin is taking it so seriously that the Spartans won’t be wearing their normal green and white jerseys. Instead they will sport grey and blue or black and yellow in honour of the Canadian Cancer Society’s colour scheme of blue and yellow.

This weekend is a great opportunity to see some of the best high school basketball teams in the province — including 16 from Winnipeg — and help out a worthy cause at the same time.

Wilsons were on target this archery season

A big shout out to Brody and Tyler Wilson of Birtle and members of the Snake Creek Archers and Westman Target Archers clubs.

Brody, who’s 14 and shoots compound and recurve bow, received the Rising Star Award at the Manitoba Archery Awards for winning six Canadian gold medals, three provincial gold medals and setting a pair of new national records.

Tyler, who’s 18 and shoots compound bow, was named the organization’s 3D archer for the second straight season. He won four Canadian and provincial championship medals this year.

It has been a fantastic year for you two.