PHOTO COURTESY Josee Bourdon Janick Lacroix's hand is raised after beating his first-round match at boxing nationals Tuesday in Victoria.
It’ll take three wins for Janick Lacroix to earn his second national boxing championship this week.
Make that two.
At Bear Mountain Resort in Victoria Tuesday, Lacroix stopped Quebec’s Manuel-Antonio Moro in the third round of their 75 kilogram youth bout.
It was a one-sided affair that saw Moro receive two standing eight-counts – one in each of the first two rounds – before he was pinned in the corner and finally heard the judges ring the bell early.
Moro didn’t offer much resistance to the Medicine Hat fighter’s straight, hard jabs, rarely connecting with any punches of his own.
Lacroix, who won his first title at the younger junior category last year, next faces Saskatchewan’s Quinn Neald Thursday in a semifinal. He’s beaten Neald several times in the past, most recently at Medicine Hat’s Nieman-Page Memorial in January.
The bout everyone’s hoping for is a rematch of the Feb. 20 Canada Winter Games final. Mohamed Zawadi earned a split decision over Lacroix and they’d square off Saturday in the final, presuming they both keep winning. Zawadi is the defending champion in the division.
Medicine Hat Boxing Club coach Kerry Fahlman said Zawadi was in the crowd Tuesday and that Lacroix even looked at him after one of the eight-counts.
“He has the skills to beat (Zawadi) if he boxes smart,” texted Fahlman post-fight. “Kid hates to lose.”
