Warriors are not born they are created.
Rob “Raging Bull” Nichols is a local warrior, and a Canadian cruiserweight champion hailing from Fort Kent.
Nichols held his title as local champion after a knockout fight against Ontario native Michael “Flash” Walchuk.
On Saturday, Nov. 12, Nichols, 36, faced off in the ring against Walchuk, as they went head to head in this year's Dekada Fight Night Premier.
Both men took a few hits in the first round, ducking and dodging the hits that they could as they danced around the ring. Coaches on the sidelines shouted directions, landing each fighter a couple of punches on their opponent.
For the second round, it was Nichols' opponent who took most of the damage, taking a series of body shots after being backed into the ropes.
After a few solid hits, Walchuk hit the ground, getting up after a few short seconds to continue the fight.
Nichols took a few hits during the round, but still stood tall as they headed into the third.
Both men danced around the ring, but that wasn't enough for Walchuk who once again ended up against the ropes taking hit after hit. Blocking some of the blows, he turned the match around and landed a few on Nichols.
In the fourth round, Nichols landed a hard blow, knocking Walchuk to the ground.
The referee slammed his hand against the ring, counting down from ten. With only one second left to spare, Walchuk rose to his feet ready to try again.
With less than two minutes into the fourth round, Nichols gave the match-winning blow, and knocked Walchuk to the ground.
Standing in the centre of the ring, the referee raised his arm in the air, declaring Nichols the winner of the match.
Nichols said if it weren't for his family's support, he wouldn't be standing in the ring.
“My wife and kids… they are the reason I stay in this,” he said, adding he is proud to be able to fight in his home community.
Nichols added, by coming to this event, the community not only showed their support for him, but also for the sport of kickboxing.
“This is a great sport… and it's awesome to be involved in this (event).”
Bonnyville amateur has first fight in the big ring
This was the first year the event included K1 kickboxing, with amateur fighters such as Bonnyville native Caleb “Armadillo” Varner taking to the ring prior to the main event.
It was the 18-year-old's first time fighting in a competition of this caliber, and although he gave it his best in the first round, he failed to bring the same level of energy into the second.
It was less than two minutes into the second round that Varner hit the ground after a knockout by his component “Simple” Simon Starke.
“It was different,” said Varner, who added he hasn't competed in front of an audience of that size before.
In order to prepare, Varner spent most days training in Bonnyville, and said he looks forward to his next time in the ring.
“I will definitely be ready for it next time,” he said.
Michael Short, promoter for the event, said the local fighters failed to keep the same level of energy throughout all three rounds.
“The fights were great. These were kids on their first debut, and we are seeing knockouts and amazing action,” he said. “They went out a little too hard, too strong, and too tense, and they hit their lactic wall, so by the time the second round came along they were done.”
Once hitting their wall, the local fighters were unable to recover, and was the demise of three of the four fighters.
The final fight, which saw Jason Gorzo of Calgary and Michael Janvier of Cold Lake go head to head, played out much differently.
Although the local fighter couldn't land a knockout punch, he managed to stay on his feet.
“They were able to go the full three rounds, and both guys had good energy for the whole fight,” said Short.
The judges made the call, with an 86-85 final.
