“I don’t give up, I don’t stop.” That kind of persistence might be useful in the classroom for any U of G student. But provincial boxing champ Paul Rasmussen is talking about his after-hours pursuit in the ring, where his tenacity and his gloves took him all the way to the Canadian senior amateur national boxing championships in early January.
His already-slim hope of reaching the Olympic qualifier was quashed Jan. 12 in Sydney, N.S., where he lost a closely fought semifinal to national heavyweight champion Samir El-Mais. El-Mais went on to win the gold medal, moving him a step closer to the 2012 London Games.
Back in Guelph by mid-month, Rasmussen was taking a week off from training, including preparing for a snowboarding weekend in Quebec and planning his next career move.
His 2012 Olympic hopes aren’t entirely dead. He plans to attend a “box-off” in February for Canada’s B team. A win there would allow him to go on to qualifiers and then perhaps attend the Olympics if Canada’s entrant proved somehow unable to compete. “It’s a pretty slight possibility,” says Rasmussen.
The Guelph-area boxer will continue training at a downtown gym and making amateur appearances, now with the 2016 Olympics in mind. Before that, he has two more years before he completes his commerce degree in real estate and housing.
He also plans to try lining up a few professional bouts. Under world boxing rules, fighters are permitted a handful of pro matches while still ranked as amateurs.
“I’m not sure I want to go professional and make a career out of it.”
A self-described “brawler” who has delivered a few knockouts without having been KO’d himself, Rasmussen views pro fighting as an entirely different arena than the points-driven amateur ring. “It’s more technical in amateurs, it’s more like a game of chess. You’re not trying to knock anyone out.”
“I like throwing punches more than anything,” says the soft-spoken Rasmussen, whose favourite sparring legends include Mike Tyson, Roy Jones Jr., Muhammad Ali and Evander Holyfield.
This month’s nationals were the provincial champion’s third appearance in the national ring.
The 201-pound Rasmussen stands 5-foot-11, making him one of the shortest competitors in the heavyweight class. “I have to work a lot harder than anyone else,” he says, meaning he has to keep on the move and punch upward at opponents.
He started boxing as a Centennial C.V.I. student, where he also played football and rugby. Sparring suits him better than team sports, he says. “I always liked fighting, I like competition, I don’t like relying on teammates.”
Now 22, he won his first fight as a 15-year-old. “I knocked him out in the second round.”
He had studied trades at Conestoga College and apprenticed for two years in northern Ontario before deciding to return to school. His hometown university – he actually grew up in Puslinch, south of Guelph – was an obvious choice. “I was always interested in business. I want to invest in real estate.”
He trains at TNT Boxing Academy in Guelph with coach Joel Yip Chuck. He’s there every day, sometimes twice a day, while taking four U of G courses at a time.
He has suffered cuts and gashes in fights, and has broken his nose three or four times.
His parents attend his bouts, although with mixed feelings. “My dad loves it. My mom is a public health nurse, she thinks it’s barbaric. You can get brain damage.” He shrugs. “I don’t care. I like it.”