Darcy Hinds got his gas money’s worth last weekend at Griffins Boxing Club in North Vancouver.
The White Rock boxer won gold at Western Canadian Boxing Championships last weekend, winning three bouts in less than three days, all the while making multiple trips – in the morning for weigh-in, then back in the evening for the fight – between the North Shore and the Peninsula.
“It was busy, a lot of driving, but everything went great,” said the 38-year-old middleweight, adding that all three of his fights were against opponents much younger than him.
On Friday, Hinds defeated 22-year-old Burnaby boxer Robert Couzens, and on Saturday night, he beat Manitoba’s Terrell Pellitier. In Sunday afternoon’s gold-medal bout, Hinds defeated Alberta boxer Logan Fairgrove-Parks.
All three fights consisted of three, three-minute rounds, and each if Hinds’ victories were unanimous decisions on the judge’s cards.
“All three were equally tough,” said Hinds.
Next up for Hinds is Olympic trials next month in Montreal, and the White Rock pugilist admits it’s his last shot at making it to amateur sports’ biggest stage.
“This is it – whether I make it or don’t, this will be the last time I go for it. After, I’ll go pro and have a few fights, and focus on my career,” said Hinds, who works in the movie industry as an actor and stuntman and has appeared in Arrow, The Flash, X-Men in recent years.
Hinds, who boxes out of New Westminster’s Queensborough Boxing Club, has competed at Olympic trials twice before, in 2003 and 2007, narrowly missing each time. He didn’t try for a spot on Canada’s team for the 2012 Games in London, because, as he explained, there was a maximum age limit of 34 – a limit that has since been axed.
“I came so close before, but then I stopped pursuing it, but to make it now, it would be amazing. It’d be a dream come true,” he said.
Hinds will have to finish first at trials to move on, though even a win there won’t guarantee a spot at the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janiero – it will simply cement his as Canada’s representative in the middleweight division.
The winner in Montreal will move on to another tournament, set for Argentina in April, with the top three from that event qualifying for the Olympics.
“It’s going to be tough. At trials and then in Argentina, everyone is dangerous, no matter who you’re up against,” he said.
Though he will be among the oldest fighters in Montreal this month, Hinds – who is sponsored by Steve Nash Sports Club and local supplement company Athletic Alliance – doesn’t feel like it puts him at a disadvantage.
In fact, Hinds thinks it will help him.
“I’m more mature now, more confident and experienced than I was the first two (Olympic trials),” he explained. “And I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in. I feel great.”
Part of the reason he feels as good as he does at 38, he said, is the fact that he’s largely avoided injury – especially head shots – despite a long amateur career in the ring.
“I’ve been lucky that I haven’t taken too many shots. I’m lucky enough that I have another job (acting) that I love, too, so the day I start taking punishment – especially with concussions – that’s the day I hang it up,” he said.