PICTOU, N.S. — It’s been 10 months since Brody Blair last squared off against an opponent in the boxing ring.
On Feb. 9, the pro fighter will return to the competitive arena at the Halifax Forum.
“I had a couple of things lined up at the end of (2018), but both of them fell through,” said the 27-year-old.
“That is the hard part in the pro game. In the pros, you don’t know for sure if you’re even going to have a fight until they step in the ring. I’d like to keep busy – four or five fights a year would be perfect (but) I’m feeling good right now, getting lots of sparring.”
Trained by his father Robert Blair and based out of Pictou, Blair has a 3-0 record as a professional after a stellar amateur career that saw him compete in more than 20 countries around the world.
Blair won a bronze medal at the 2011 Pan American Games, fought at the Commonwealth Games in 2014, and at one point, he came within a whisker of representing Canada at the 2012 Olympics.
His opponent is flying in from Mexico for the four-round bout this weekend and, a few days before the match, Blair didn’t know much about the man he will go toe-to-toe with at the Forum.
“His last name is Sanchez. That’s all I really know about him,” he said with frankness.
Blair said because he knows hardly anything about his fellow competitor, he might start the match by sizing up his opponent, gauging his movement, trying to get a handle on what kinds of punches he’ll send Blair’s way.
“You have to stay cautious, feel him out,” Blair explained. “Use some fakes, see what he does, see how he moves and what he likes to throw.”
He said he’s been working hard with a local fitness trainer and can see the results.
“There is a big improvement in my balance and power,” he said.
While lately he has not been getting as much action in the ring as he’d like, Blair still has a long-range goal of fighting for a Canadian title.
“It would be nice at some point, for sure. We’ll see where we can take it.”
