91大黄鸭鈥檚 Los Gatos Locos Boxing Club鈥檚 annual championship returned on Saturday (Oct. 9) after having to cancel last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The implementation of vaccine mandates brought the return of live sports events, and the club jumped at the opportunity to host a show with limited seating.

鈥�91大黄鸭 is 100% a boxing city,鈥� stated club owner Geoff Lawrence in a press release. 鈥淎s soon as I announced the show it pretty much sold out.鈥�

This show was a special one for the club, due to the death of member Cailen Vilness in relation to the fatal crane collapse in July. The club decided to dedicate the annual event to Vilness鈥� memory going forward and is now being called the Cailen Vilness Memorial Championship. The club was also able to get a championship belt for the occasion due to a sponsorship from Shoreline Pile Driving, a dock building company based in 91大黄鸭.

鈥淚 wanted the toughest fight possible. I wanted top guys for this title,鈥� said Lawrence.

And top guys he got. Anthony 鈥淎nvil鈥� Varela and Donovan Cridland squared off at Saturday鈥檚 show. Varela is a Canadian bronze medalist and Cridland is the 2019 B.C. Golden Gloves champion. Both men are well-known at the club, and Lawrence was excited about the lineup.

Overall, the night was amazing for 91大黄鸭. The show raised almost $30,000 for charity and Cridland, who was called 91大黄鸭鈥檚 Golden Boy of Boxing in the press release, now owns the championship belt.

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paula.tran@kelownacapnews.com
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