Bout for truth: Sask. boxing club trains for a truth and reconciliation fight night

A nighttime training session begins the final countdown for Coach Gary "Hocus Pocus" Kopas and the young boxers who frequent his downtown Saskatoon gym.

"Let's hear those cracks," Kopas yells as his boxers partner up for pad work. "Rip 'em hard! Three days 'til the big show. Hit and rip."

The big show is on Saturday, when they'll test their training in the ring for the Every Child Matters: This Bout is for Truth boxing card at Prairieland Park in Saskatoon.

It's no coincidence the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation is just two days after the event. Co-sponsored by the Federation of Sovereign Indian Nations, the boxing card is a showcase for Indigenous athletes and will commemorate residential school survivors.

"We know the history shows people weren't treated properly and we're doing our part to change that," Kopas said during training night.

"What we're doing is bringing communities in, just bringing everybody together and celebrating the youth and Indigenous culture and all the hard work that these kids are putting in."

Sidney John III fights on Saturday. The 17-year-old makes the one-hour drive from One Arrow First Nation five times a week to train at the gym. He said boxing taught him discipline and opened up a world of opportunity.

"I boxed in Las Vegas two years ago," John III said. "I wasn't expecting to travel around the world or expecting boxing would be a part of it."

He said he's grateful for the chance to box at an event commemorating survivors of residential school. "I think about it a lot," he said. "My mom's grandparents — my kokums and mushums — and a whole lot of my relatives have actually been there."

John III isn't the only kid to discover new abilities and new ways of thinking through boxing. Kopas said that's his own story too. He went from street fights in Regina to title fights around the world, winning nine provincial championships and the 2017 Canadian Professional Boxing Council Cruiserweight title.

"I've had lots of kids come in here with bad attitudes, low grades," Kopas said. "They join and, you know, they're all tough outside of the gym and they learn quick that they're not as tough as they think they are. So they get in here and start getting better learning skills and then before you know it they're competing."

When competitive youth sports can cost a small fortune, Kopas keeps his gym accessible and welcomes all skills levels.

Jacey Kasakan started boxing at Kopas' gym nine months ago and fights on Saturday in a rematch of a bout he lost. Like others, he's in the gym five times a week. Kasakan said the gym is a refuge for some kids.

"It's nice to do something to get away from the house and all the troubles outside of home, like for all the kids," Kasakan said.