Sizing up his competition, Burnaby’s Robert Couzens expected to face a rapid-fire test as he pulled on the Team Canada top and trunks to box a rival from Puerto Rico.
It wasn’t a new experience for him, but Couzens’ last national team match was nearly nine years ago as a junior.
Fighting adults is a whole different ball game.
Couzens stepped into the Winnipeg ring on Sept. 6 and emerged victorious, beating Yoniel Gonzalez Mendez 3-0 in a unanimous decision.
He did it despite not being in the best possible shape.
“I didn’t feel my cardio or conditioning was up to par from what it was at nationals, due to not having my coach around in the summer and not pushing myself as much,” said Couzens, 26. “I still felt like I was above what I needed to win that fight. I still had something left in the tank.”
It turned out that proved to be a factor, after his rival came out fast and furious, only to tire over the three-round 69-kilogram match.
“This guy was a tough contender, and he did come forward a lot, but what worked in my benefit was he gassed out halfway through the second round,” he recalled. “I could see him huffing and puffing, my coaches were yelling he looked gassed, so I tried to pick it up a bit more.”
A few weeks after the bout, which was voted at the conclusion of the Canada-Puerto Rico competition as the fight of the night, Couzens still showed some of the signs of a battle.
All in day’s work, he said.
“I remember I backed him up in his corner with a couple of jabs, threw a big left hook and I saw, it was like in slow motion, his legs start to do the noodle dance,” the national team member said. “One thing I’ve always needed to capitalize on is when you see them wobbling you have to attack right away. It just flashed in my eyes, and I went to attack. As I went to the big right-left (combination) he caught my left and grappled me up, so we were caught up and I missed that opportunity. We were wrapped up until the bell rang.”
Having taken the national title in April on a 3-2 decision, Couzens had planned for a fight or two in preparation for his national team spots. Unfortunately, the scheduled fights fell through. His coach, Mihai Afloarei, was away for a couple of months and it was up to the Burnaby North alum to keep up the pace.
That was a challenge, but for the most part the youth worker with the City of Burnaby upheld the training regime.
“When the coach is there, you are going really hard. When the coach isn’t there, you kind of slack off a bit. I could tell myself that I was above where I usually train myself, but I have to act like my coach has been on me. I’d hear his voice but sometimes you block it out, because those couple of seconds you want to get a break, but that’s when he’d push me twice as hard.”
While Afloarei is back and the two have resumed training, they’ll be without a facility after Core Studio on East Hastings, just on the other side of Kootenay Loop, closes its doors in October. Afloarei is reaching out to find a place where he, Couzens and his other fighters can work out and spar. Finding someone as generous as Core owner Rocco Dipopol may be difficult, but to keep training the national team member, as well as a potential provincial champion, is crucial.
"I'd like to thank Rocco for all he's done for us," said Afloarei, himself a former champion boxer in his native Romania.
For Couzens, getting to fight for Canada again was a thrill – especially with the win.
“There’s lots of adrenalin, for sure,” he said. “I think this is a big step in my senior career because I hadn’t been on the international team since I was a junior for three years. It’s a totally different scene now, you’re with seniors now – different strength, different muscle mass. It was just awesome to represent the country again, it feels amazing.”
Team Canada is slated to head to the Dominican Republic next week for another series, but hurricane concerns could scuttle that trip. In the meantime, Couzens is going to continue putting in the work and preparing for his next opportunity.
“I can remember making the team the first time (as a junior), I was ecstatic to make it to that level,” he said. “That’s what hard work does and what listening to your coach gets you. It was an ecstatic feeling getting to that level, knowing you have Canada on your back. I’m thrilled to be here again.”
