Kenny Lally learned very early in life that the word “can’t” is not part of his vocabulary.
If it was, he wouldn’t be where he is now in the boxing world.
Lally is on the verge of becoming part of the largest multi-sport event in Canadian history when he joins close to 7,000 athletes competing in 36 sports over the next 16 days at the Pan American Games in Toronto.
The reigning bantamweight (56 kilogram) national champion has fought internationally more than 30 times in his boxing career but nothing comes close to what he’s already begun to experience as part of host Team Canada.
“I’m here for one reason – there’s only one medal I’m here to get,” said Lally.
“Coming from where I started as a little kid in Prince George, B.C, to this huge stage at the Pan American Games, you just take a breath and enjoy it. People always have dreams and a lot of people shut their dreams out when the obstacles come. But if you just put the work in and keep fighting and battling and you persevere, you’ll get to where you want to be.”
Lally has his first fight set for Monday, July 20 in the 7,600-seat General Motors Centre in Oshawa.
Until then, he’s soaking up the atmosphere and feeding off the energy that’s beginning to take hold in Canada’s largest city, knowing most of the hard work in preparing for the Games is now behind him.
“The town is in a frenzy, anywhere we go we’re getting lots of love, lots of “Go Canada,” and it feels good,” he said.
“Being on home soil we’ve got everybody behind us. Walking downtown we had our uniforms on and everyone was honking and clapping for us. It’s a good feeling.”
Lally arrived in Toronto on Sunday and has been working out at a training camp in Oshawa.
He went to the athletes’ village in downtown Toronto near CN Tower on Wednesday and spent six hours there getting fitted team uniforms.
He will remain in Oshawa with the seven-male, three-female boxing team until Wednesday, when they move into the village.
“The village is nuts, it’s huge, there’s a lot of countries (41),” said Lally. “There’s a lot of stuff going on and it’s hectic and when we’re back in our hotel room in Oshawa we can just focus on what we need to do.
“I’ve never felt better. I had my first sparring session (Tuesday) and I surprised myself with the stuff I was doing. I was hitting and my punches were accurate, I could see stuff coming, it just felt awesome.”
Lally last fought April 26 at the Cheo Aponte Cup tournament in Puerto Rico, where he won two matches, then lost to Hector Luis Garcia of the Dominican Republic in the semifinal round and was awarded a bronze medal.
“The main reason I lost in Puerto Rico was I wasn’t big enough or strong enough against (Garcia), but I’ve put some muscle on and I can’t wait to draw this guy again,” Lally said. “It’ll be a different story.”
Garcia has qualified for the Pan Am Games but Lally doesn’t know if he’ll face him because the draw has yet to be released. With just 10 fighters in each weight class, Lally figures he’ll have to win just one fight to advance to the medal round.
“I’m in tough and I’m fighting the best of the best but there’s a reason I’m here – I’m one of the best of the best, too,” Lally said. “We’re going to collide and I’m confident my hand is going to be raised after each of my fights.”
Lally’s Inner City coach, Bob Pegues, says he has made good use of his time in training.
‘He’s absolutely more fit, stronger, bigger and better-prepared than he’s been for any event I’ve ever seen him get ready for,” said Pegues. “He was right on his game for this last nationals (in December) but now he’s upped that so much with all the strength training he’s done. I think he’s going through right to gold, he’s so well-prepared.”
After the Pan Am Games end July 26, Lally will have just 19 days to prepare for the Continental championships in Venezuela, a qualifying event for the 2016 Olympics. If Lally earns a Continental medal he will qualify for the word championships and then would have to finish in the top 10 to qualify for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
“It’s always hard to peak twice and I’ve told him to rest and not do any training for at least 10 of those days to try to stay in that mode,” said Pegues.
Lally’s mother Jas and father Ranbir from Prince George plan to be in the crowd watching his bouts, as will his best friend and training partner Jag Seehra. Pegues had to cancel his travel plans to Toronto to attend to his ailing mother in Qualicum Beach.
Lally will take part in the opening ceremony parade of athletes into Rogers Centre tonight but said he won’t stick around for the entertainment.
