Golden Gloves champ promotes boxing in Chippewa Valley
By Marlys Kruger, Sports Reporter
Tuesday, July 22, 2008 4:01 PM CDT
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Philip Schwarz/For Dunn County News
Tyler Drinkwine (left) heads the ball past a White Bear Lake defender on the way to a 1-1 tie in the district championship game. White Bear Lake won the shootout securing the higher seed in the MYSA State Tournament.
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A Menomonie resident who has been boxing for the past 11 years, is trying to arouse some interest in the sport in this area of Wisconsin.
Harley “The Sandman” Kilfiany, 28, began a boxing career in Nevada at the age of 17. After moving to Menomonie with his wife and kids to be near her family, he has been trying to stay involved in the sport and is letting others know that boxing is still alive, and there are ways to get started if they want to pursue it.
Kilfiany boxes in the cruiserweight division (boxers less than 200 pounds) and currently has a record of 6-1 with five knockouts. His last match took place at Grand Casino Hinckley in Minnesota on June 6. He won that match with a second-round knockout and will fight next in Somerset on Friday, Aug. 15. He is the 2007 Golden Gloves Upper Midwest Regional Champion and is trying to get as many matches in the Midwest as possible.
When Kilfiany first moved to the area, he was driving 150 miles round trip to the Twin Cities area to train, and heard about the Chippewa Valley Boxing Club, which has a training facility at the Banbury Place in Eau Claire. He met up with Scott Robinson, the trainer there, and has now been doing all of his training in the Chippewa Valley.
“Boxing is not as popular in this area as it is in Nevada,” he said. “I believe I am the only competitive boxer in Menomonie, and I’d like to see more people get started in it. My manager is trying to get a show set up in Menomonie this fall. The casinos are really big promoters of the sport and, besides Hinckley, I have boxed at the Hayward and Bowler, Minn., casinos. Hinckley is having another competition in August with three boxing matches and three kick boxing matches,” he said.
Anyone interested in more information can contact Robinson at (715) 271-7717.
Marlys Kruger can be reached at marlys.kruger@ lee.net. |
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