Thirteen years of hard work paid off for Williams Lake’s Roberto McLellan on Thursday, March 10 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Calgary, when the lakecity pro boxer became the first Canadian Professional Boxing Council’s Light Middleweight Champion.
McLellan scored a sixth-round TKO victory over Edmonton’s Anthony Lessard to capture the title.
“After 13 and a half years, it feels good,” said McLellan, who started as an amateur boxer in 1997. “Finally.”
McLellan also becomes the first boxer from Williams Lake to win a Canadian title which, he added, means a lot to him.
“When we woke up in the morning [after the fight] we just rushed back home as quick as we could,” he said. “We wanted to get the title home.”
Recalling the events from the fight, McLellan said it was an excellent fight for him.
“In the first round, I came out and hit him with a left hook,” he said. “He didn’t go down but it backed him off a bit. From there we worked on the game plan, which was really good for this fight.
“He started lobbing right hands, really hard punches, but I was able to keep away and respond.”
The game plan, he said, was to use his speed to his advantage while also keeping tight on Lessard and ensuring everything was under control.
“I kept myself under check even when he was hurt,” McLellan said. “I just waited, kept picking at him, worked the body and he started to get tired.”
By the sixth round, McLellan, noticing the fatigue his opponent was suffering, turned up the pace.
“I hit him with a body shot, a right to the body, a right to the head and a left uppercut and he went down hard,” McLellan said. “He got up after that but I hit him again with a right hook to the body and he stayed down for the 10 count.”
McLellan said he spent 12 weeks preparing for the fight and, with the win, improves his record to 6-1-1 (3 KOs) while claiming the 154-pound title.
Speaking on his training, McLellan said a number of people including brother Stuart McLellan, father Gary McLellan, Williams Lake Boxing Club coach Rick Albrechtsen and Lance Grey were huge in getting him ready for the fight, and thanked them for their support.
“I wanted that fight,” he said. “I wanted for the belt to come back here, to Williams Lake.”
The sold-out event of near 500 spectators was hosted by Teofista Boxing Promotions, who put on the event as a fundraiser for Big Brothers and Big Sisters in Calgary.
