John Mance and Zach Rose won their bouts in the boxing ring on March 22.
They were the only representatives of Sweet Home’s Wolf Pack Boxing Club.
Mance, 15, had a technical knockout in the second round against Ben Jenson of West Eugene. The freshman fought at 173 pounds.
Rose, 16, defeated Tyrell Stevens of Sand Dragon Boxing Club. The sophomore fought at 155 pounds.
“We started pretty close,” Mance said. “He was more of a brawler. He could hit pretty well.”
Early on in the first round, Mance and Jenson exchanged some hits, but Mance was ahead by the end of the round. Jenson had a little cut on his nose, and an eye was swollen.
“He was a little bit smaller than I am, but he was very fast,” Mance said. Jenson’s swings were wide, so Mance started throwing jabs straight on into his face.
When they started the second round, Jenson was “freaked out” and moving around quite a bit.
Forty-five seconds into the round, Mance caught Jenson in a corner and went all out to win by technical knockout.
“It was a good fight,” Mance said.
Mance had been boxing for only two weeks. Before that, the only boxing he had done before was at home.
“I was enthused completely,” Mance said. “It was a great start.”
On Saturday, Mance won at Warm Spring, knocking out his opponent in just 30 seconds.
In Rose’s fight, “Zach whooped him bad,” Mance said. “The kid had no chance at all. By the end of the first round, the kid was pretty dazed.”
In that round, Mance thought Rose’s opponent only got two hits in.
The second round was more of the same, with Rose landing head shot after head shot.
Rose won 60-54. He has been boxing for seven months and the fight was his first.
Wolf Pack Boxing has five fighters between 15 and 17 years old.
The team is open to anyone who wants to box. The Wolf Pack practices four nights a week above Cascade Hardware.
For more information, persons may contact Coach Bob Ashe at 367-6342.