Ken “Heavy Hands” Huber had some real work to do.
The amateur boxing champion from 100 Mile House fell off the dietary wagon and packed on over 30 pounds over the summer (a chiseled 183 softened to 220 pounds), camping with his kids and eating basically whatever he wanted to eat.
Huber, who runs the Kamloops Boxing Academy, chuckles about it now. He's been hard at it in the gym for a couple weeks now, his weight is coming down, and he's starting to feeling like himself again with a tough fight coming up Oct. 3 in Richmond.
“It's taken a lot of work to get back into it,” says Huber. “I did a 10-round sparring session last week and man I was hurting. Usually 10 rounds is just another day at the gym.”
Huber is the current Combsport BC champion at classic heavyweight (195 to 220 pounds) and cruiserweight (up to 195 pounds).
In Richmond he's meeting a slick East Vancouver boxer, Samuel “The King” Moses, who's ranked number one contender in both weight classes.
Huber's titles aren't on the line for the upcoming four-round bout at 195 pounds, but the pair are fighting for the Silver Gloves Championship, a new Combsport title.
“I'm super stoked,” says Huber, whose last fight was an emphatic second round knockout victory against another top B.C. heavyweight contender back in April.
Huber expects to make his professional boxing debut in Langley in January. Turning pro has been a long time coming for the 31-year-old and he's using the upcoming bout, potentially his last as an amateur, to get back in shape and back on track.
Speaking over the phone on his way to 100 Mile House – his grandmother Marg Huber in the vehicle with him – on Sept. 25, Huber, happy and mellow as usual, said he still had about 10 pounds to cut before Oct. 3. He didn't sound very worried about it. The hands are flying again, he added, his timing was coming back, he was feeling really good.