All ten gold medal matches for the 2019 Canadian National Amateur Championships are set following day two action in Lethbridge, Alta.
Following an injury forcing Blake McVittie out of his semi-final match, Ramil Kamilov (4-1) advances to face Jett Grande (12-0) in Friday’s welterweight final at Rumble in the Cage 61.
Kamilov said although it’s nice to have a spot locked up in the finals, he also would’ve liked the extra fight and experience from fighting McVittie.
“I want extra wins and experience on my record. I come to Nationals not to zig zag my way through to get the title, but I want as much experience and wins on my record as possible,” said Kamilov.
“I was excited for the fight with Blake. I thought it was a very winnable fight for me; I thought I would’ve finished that guy.”
Kamilov’s attention has now turned to the current world champion, Grande.
He said this is a fight he’s been thinking about since he registered for this tournament, knowing it could very well come down to he and Grande.
Although Grande does pose plenty of threats, Kamilov said he believes he has the recipe to defeat him, and it’s just a matter of going out and executing.
“As far as I’m concerned, going into this fight, he’s 0-0 and I’m 0-0. I think I have a much more well-rounded game,” said Kamilov.
“I think every single guy he’s fought in the past has not done what is very obvious to me that needs to be done. I’m not going to say what that is, but I know what needs to be done, and I also understand it’s not an easy task to accomplish it.”
Mavridis Remains Undefeated
In what was an extremely close fight on the judges scorecards, Andrew Mavridis (now 6-0) advanced to the lightweight final through a split decision win over Russ McCumber (now 5-5).
After what Mavridis and his team described as a fight that could’ve gone either way, Mavridis said he’s happy to have the opportunity to compete for the gold medal.
“It was a very close fight; he’s a very game fighter. He came to swing, he came to win,” said Mavridis.
“He hits pretty hard, props to him. But I seemed to edge him out, so I can’t be mad about that.”
Mavridis will now face Aaron Anctil (5-2) in the lightweight final Friday night.
He said he doesn’t know much about Anctil and is only focused on becoming national champion.
“It’s what I’m here for. We want the championships; we want the glory.”
Anctil Continues to Roll
Anctil overcame a tough first round to defeat Steven Thomas (now 3-3) via second round knockout to lock up his spot in the lightweight finals against Mavridis.
Anctil said he knew Thomas was going to be a stiff test coming in and was happy with the way he performed overall.
“I feel really good about the fight. He was definitely a tough opponent; I know a lot of the guys he trains with, so I knew it was going to be one of the tougher fights,” said Anctil.
“I was looking forward to it and it went good for me.”
With Lethbridge being his hometown, Anctil now has the opportunity to become a national champion in front of family and friends.
He said he’s looking forward to the opportunity to win the gold medal and put himself in position to compete in the IMMAF World Championships in November.
“It would be great. I’m just hoping for it; I’d be real happy,” said Anctil.
“I’d also love to do worlds. That’s what my plan is, if all goes well Friday.”
Peter Janssen (now 4-3) was also victorious on day two, finishing Walter Barrios by second round TKO. Janssen will advance to face Indroop Virk (5-0) in the featherweight final.
