Dedicated boxing facilities in Saskatoon are few and far between, that is until recently.
Claude ‘Skip’ Cusson, a former amateur boxer, saw the shortage and decided to do something about it.
“Boxing’s coming back. Everybody says let’s go back to boxing and all of a sudden I got lots of students calling me saying ‘Skip, you got a gym.’ I said ‘yes, I got a gym.’ ‘OK, where do we go,’” Cusson said.
Skip’s Boxing Gym has been drawing a steady crowd since opening late last year. Some are serious students of boxing while others simply come for the exercise.
“It’s nice to see everyone come in and to train … it doesn’t matter which one. It could be muay thai, pro wrestling, could be boxing and it could be jiu-jitsu. You know, it’s a great feeling,” Cusson said.
Terri-Lyn Lenz goes to the gym to blow off steam after spending her working day behind a desk.
“The group here is really, really a lot of fun. Skip keeps it light and enjoyable,” Lenz said.
“There’s some people who are seriously training and so they put in that extra effort, but for the rest of us, that are here to get away from our desk jobs and just be physical, we can do that too.”
With an endorsement like that, how could Global’s Ryan Flaherty turn down a chance to learn from the master? After a lesson with Cusson, he told the reporter he had a lot to learn.
While Flaherty might have some work to do, Cusson hopes a fighter trained at his gym will one day compete on one of the world’s biggest stages.
“I can’t wait to get someone to maybe make the Olympics or even turn pro, and win some titles,” Cusson said.
Until then, Cusson is happy to help share his love for the sport and get Saskatoon’s boxing scene back up off the mat.
Comments