Report by: Chris Occhiuzzi from the Ottawa Sun -
Chris Occhiuzzi will be at ringside
at the Ulster Hall on June 13th for part II of 'Canada Vs
Ireland' .
When are you too
old to fight?
In the case of Norm Beauchamps, 46, the answer is probably
never.
It took guts for Beauchamps to step into the kickboxing
ring with a man half his age on Mat 2nd, but it took experience
to win the fight. Beauchamps, a former world jiu jitsu champion,
was part of Jean- Yves Theriault’s kickboxing team
representing Canada against Billy Murray’s squad from
Ireland. This was Beauchamps first and last kickboxing match.
“It was an amazing experience, a nice way to end my
career,” said Beauchamps after the fight. “It
was a fabulous night.”
He defeated 21 year-old Stephen Cully from Ireland by TKO.
However, Culley showed a ton of heart, never quit, and even
in defeat can hold his head up high. “I give him a
lot of credit, he’s a tough kid,” said Beauchamps.
Later in the evening Beauchamps was voted fighter of the
night by the audience, which numbered around 2,000. “I’m
on cloud nine,” said Beauchamps, who received two
standing ovations from the crowd. There were 11 fights in
total, with six having Canadian versus Irish fighters. The
squads tied 3-3 in the overall event.
Both Theriault and Murray were pleased with their teams’
performances.
“I was satisfied with the event,” said Theriault.“There
were well matched fights, and the fighters
showed good spirit.” Murray had much praise for the
way his team handled themselves and stated that they showed
a lot of heart although lacking experience. “The team
we brought over (to Canada) was really a Novice team,”
he said. “John (Ward) was in his first fight ever.”
Get ready for ' Canada Vs Ireland II' - Ulster
hall June 13th more on this soon.
Photographs from the bout between -
Norm Beauchamps Vs Stephen Cully
