Blood, sweat, and tears were seen at the Cochrane Lions Event Centre on Saturday evening (September 15) and all for a great cause.

Over 750 people came together to cheer on their favourite boxer competing in the second annual 'Rumble at the Ranche' hosted by Rival Boxing Gym Cochrane in support of the Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane & Area.

Twenty-four boxers signed up three months ago, under the guidance of owner/coach Craig Wilson, who shares despite checking an item off their bucket list the boxers would need to but in lots of effort. "We told them at the gym, whoever wants it more and trains the hardest is going to win."

With only twelve-weeks to train, Wilson got down to business and came up with a training regime that would make Rocky Balboa take a seat.

Scott MacLennan was one of twenty-four individuals who decided to show off his fast feet in the ring. With his wife, Kayley's support, the two sold 12% of all ticket sales earning MacLennan the main event slot. “My motivation was to be part of the charity for the Boys and Girls Club and having my son take classes here, the opportunity came up and I decided to do it. Everybody here is such good people.”

Showing his opponent Caleb Bruce the ropes, MacLennan claimed his first ever boxing victory in the first round.

Another great match of the evening featured two female boxers whose fire and fury lasted all three rounds. Leah Cronkhite and Kristie Verheuil came out of their corners swinging, with Cronkhite claiming a victorious win over Verheuil. Sponsored by Mountain Vista Law, Cronkhite did have previous boxing experience but left the sport due to an injury. After finding her way to Rival Boxing Gym, she rediscovered how much she enjoyed and missed the sport. "Craig doesn’t put you in the ring before you are ready, I knew I would be safe. Boxing is a misunderstood sport, it is hard to learn but there are fewer injuries and concussions in boxing than other sports. Not sure if she will compete again, Cronkhite is certainly glad she can cross this off her bucket list.

Wilson was thrilled to see this year's fight night be just as well received as last year and shares they could have sold double the amount of tickets if they had wanted and had space. "It is a unique event, a little bit of Vegas in Cochrane. It is not a mainstream sport, everyone knows someone who is here which adds to it. It brings awareness to the sport."

While the final monetary amount has not been tallied quite yet, Wilson says supporting the Boys and Girls Club seemed like a perfect fit. “We wanted to keep our charity local and the timing of them opening 'The Club' (teen space) is perfect. They also support some of the kids in our program - it seemed like a natural choice."

With overwhelming support and another successful event under their belts, Wilson states they are in talks with Big Hill Haven (Cochrane's up and coming women’s shelter) for an all-women’s event in early 2019 along with the third annual Rumble at the Ranche event.

The results of all twelve matches are below:

Fight 1 Ricky Hine vs Dave McNamara (win)

Fight 2 Dan Velea vs Feysal Sahaladine (win)

Fight 3 Camille Elain vs Brad Pace (win)

Fight 4 Christopher Huggins vs Edward Hine (win)

Fight 5 Donica Hallet vs Lynn Hicks (win)

Fight 6 David Snider (win) vs Roy Smith

Fight 7 Leah Cronkhite (win) vs Kristie Verheuil

Fight 8 Paul Marchand (win) vs Tyler Hill

Fight 9 Jake Bailly vs Will Cooper (win)

Fight 10 Michael Bochanski vs Brent Parsons (win)

Fight 11 Kelsey Norman (win) vs Tara Winberg

Fight 12 Caleb Bruce vs Scott MacLennan (win)