Drumheller novice boxer Jon Olhauser won his first belt in Grande Prairie, his seventh amateur fight. Olhauser started boxing for fitness, then moved into competition.
Last weekend Jon Ohlhauser headed to Grande Prairie in shorts and came home with a pretty big belt to hold them up.
Ohlhauser won his first belt of his burgeoning boxing career, and with his dedication to the sport, it may not be his last. The matches were part of Grande Prairie’s centennial celebrations.
“They were also celebrating 100 years of boxing in their community,” explains Ohlhauser. “Willie De Witt was there, and they had eight fights. I won my weight division at 75 kilograms.”
His interest in the sport came later in life and as a result of supporting his daughter Moriah’s career choice. He explains that her goal is to become an RCMP officer and in working toward this, it was recommend she take up a martial arts or combative sport. She chose kickboxing.
He wasn’t interested in kickboxing himself, but said he would be interested in boxing for fitness. They found a training gym in Airdrie. That was just over two years ago.
“After a month, I thought, I was doing all this work, and I am a goal driven person, I’m already in shape, I want to move from fitness to competition,’” he said.
Since then he has trained and climbed through ropes a few times. The bout in Grande Prairie was his seventh amateur fight, and his second victory.
At 48, fighting at the amateur level, he is often fighting much younger boxers. In fact the Grande Prairie bout was the first time he had fought someone over 25.
At the amateur level, he fights under Olympic rules. This means three–three minute rounds. This is more than enough time to wind a boxer to the point of exhaustion. With short matches, there are not many knock outs, but rather lots of strategy.
“If you trust your coach, he is not going to put you in the ring over your head,” said Ohlhauser.
“Amateur is about boxing, there may be some 20 year-olds there to impress their girlfriend, but most of the guys in there understand the game is about scoring points, it is not about knockouts.”
“It is fast, lots of punching, but not huge power. There is more technique, you have to think about how I am going to set the next shot up.”
He is considered novice because he has had less than 10 fights. After that he moves up to the open division.
“I like the fact it pushes me, it is a rush to get in the ring. It is just you, and there is no place to hide unless you can get behind the ref,” he laughs.
“I’m 48, so at some point I’ll have to put the gloves down, but I don’t feel it. So while I don’t feel it, I might as well see what I can do and go for it.”
He is not alone. Last spring he went to the community recreation fair to gauge interest in the sport. This resulted in 48 people approaching him interested in doing boxing, either recreationally or for fitness.
“I got all ages, from kids to adults. I am really playing with the idea that this fall I may open up. I have a facility to do it in, it is just a matter of getting it set up,” he said.
