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Bam Bam working hard for title shot

Parksville fighter Aubrey “Bam Bam” Morrow ready after intensive training camp
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Aubrey “Bam Bam” Morrow is ready for his Western Canadian title fight against Paul Bzdel

All the hard work and preparation has been done, now all that’s left for Aubrey “Bam Bam” Morrow are weigh-ins and a shot to catapult his name in the middleweight ranks across Canada.

It’s been eight weeks of a great camp, according to both Morrow and his coach Rich LeStage, who’ve been training out of the gym at Kickstart Fitness, working on every aspect of his boxing ahead of his Western Canadian title fight on May 23 on the “Rumble at the Rink” card at the Frank Crane Arena in Nanaimo.

“It’s been a great camp,” LeStage said. “We’re extremely happy with what we’ve been able to do and we owe a huge thank you to Beth Aldren and all the wonderful people here at Kickstart Fitness.”

“Everyone here, from the janitor in the evening all the way up to Beth, are just amazing people and welcomed us in here with open arms and that made it so much easier on us to be able to come in here and get ready for this fight.”

The fight for Bam Bam comes after a knockout of Cameron Rivera, a fight in which most people thought Rivera was the more promising. Both LeStage and Morrow knew then, much like they know now, what to expect after a good camp and will be looking for the same result against Paul Bzdel this time around as well.

“I’m ready to go,” Morrow said. “Training has been great, I feel great, I’m feeling relaxed too which is nice. Now we’ll just work on a few more things between now and the fight, just some little stuff, but the hard work has been put in and now it’s time to go out there and put it out there for everyone to see.”

Both Morrow and LeStage know that fighting in front of the hometown crowd can be both a benefit and a distraction. It’s something they are well aware of but are prepared to keep in check.

“The thing about Aubrey, and most of my fighters, is we don’t have the hometown crowd most fights,” LeStage said.

“With the way that boxing is in B.C., we’re usually off fighting somewhere else. So we’re used to there being 2,000 people in a crowd and having 1,950 of those people cheering for the other guy.”

“But Aubrey, no matter where he goes to fight, has that ability to make those same people who were cheering for the other guy at the start of the fight to turn around and cheer him by the time the fights finished.”

Though surprised by earning a title fight this soon, Bam Bam knows that he’s ready for the challenge and will lay it all out on the line on May 23. For his coach, it just goes to show how far he has really come.

“Aub’s a good kid,” LeStage said. “His comeback now, he’s a different person than when he was younger. He trained well for that fight last summer but since then, he’s hungrier and he’s been training harder. His maturity and the way he’s approached these last two fights, he’s really come a long way.”