Two young boxers from Island Boxing are headed to the national stage after standout performances at the 2025 British Columbia Junior & Youth Provincial Championships earlier this month.
Odin Munns of Saanich's Spectrum Community School captured gold, while Codey Manley of Frances Kelsey Secondary in Mill Bay earned provincial bronze. Both qualified for the 2025 National Boxing Championships, set for May 28 to June 1 at Laval University in Quebec City.
Their strong showings at provincials – held April 18–19 at Monarc Athletics in Vancouver – secured their spots.
Manley faced a tough draw in the 65kg division, opening his tournament against Torin Edmonds, a recent Canadian Cup champion.
“He’s a very experienced, good fighter,” Manley said. “I faced him and lost a split decision. I feel like it was in my favour, but the judges gave it to him, which is unfortunate – but it happens.”
Despite the setback, Manley bounced back the next day with a unanimous decision win in a match bout against an older opponent, Daniel McLean.
“I was pretty proud of my performance,” Manley said. “I went in there with a game plan of just boxing the guy – hands up, perfect technique. I think I achieved that to a certain extent. In the third round, my cardio started to go out the window, but overall, I was happy with how I boxed.”
Having competed at nationals last year, Manley said his biggest focus now is improving his endurance – something he believes played a role in his loss to Edmonds.
“I’m mainly focusing on cardio. I’m running three to four times a week, hitting the gym after work, training at home – just increasing the amount, especially on conditioning,” he said. “That is my biggest takeaway from the weekend.”
Manley will once again have his father in his corner for the trip to Quebec.
“He never wants to miss a fight. I always know that he’ll be in my corner and supporting me through it all,” Manley said. “I can’t wait to share this experience with him.”
For Munns, the road to nationals came with some unexpected turns.
Originally scheduled to fight the reigning lightweight provincial champion, the bout was cancelled due to injury. His next opponent, another fighter in his age group, also withdrew. That left Munns to face a 22-year-old from Alberta, Lee Tolentino, who had more than 30 fights under his belt.
“I did everything I could, but sometimes it just isn’t in your favour,” said Munns, who lost a close split decision. “Honestly, I did better than I thought I would. I’ve never fought someone with that much experience before, so I’m happy with the result.”
Though the bout was outside his age class, Munns was the only athlete to weigh in at 60kg in his division, earning him a walkover gold and a berth at nationals. The upcoming tournament in Quebec will be his first time competing at the national level.
“I just want to fight to my full ability as usual,” Munns said. “I don’t want to let it get too much into my head that all these guys are more experienced than me. All I can do is fight to my ability.”
It also marks the longest trip he’s ever taken.
“I’ve never travelled that far in my life,” Munns said. “The farthest I’ve been is the Calgary Cup in Alberta. It’s definitely opening a lot of opportunities, travel-wise.”
Island Boxing head coach Jason Heit said both athletes have earned their shot.
“These guys have been in the gym every day, training hard, asking questions, pushing themselves,” Heit said. “It’s a great opportunity for them to test themselves against the best in the country.”
He added that the focus heading into nationals will be preparation and confidence.
“They’ve got the skills, but now it’s about conditioning, mental toughness, and executing under pressure,” Heit said. “I’m proud of how far they’ve come and excited to see how they perform on the national stage.”
