It didn't matter if it was their first ever official bout or fight number thirty-three, the local stable of boxing talent was in tough last month as competitors from Italy as well as Toronto and Ottawa made their way to Sudbury for a Top Glove Boxing Academy card hosted at the Rainbow Centre.

Stepping into the ring for their baptism in the squared circle, Ethan Toulouse and Nathan Dutrisac both suffered defeats, as did Austin Bayani of Top Glove - Brantford, the young man from the Phillipines appearing in his 33rd bout.

On a local level, Caleb Langlois from the Valley East Boxing Club earned the win over Rylee Ducharme of the D.C. Boxing Academy (Guelph) while Owen Paquette enjoyed a nice homecoming, getting the decision over Italian Lorenzo Tulli in the final fight of the evening.

Several hours earlier, Toulouse, a native of the Webbwood/Sagamok area had kicked off the festivities, given his indoctrination to his new sport following a loss to Adrian De Leon, also of D.C. Boxing Academy.

"It's a lot more intense when you're in there," said the 19 year-old who faced the challenge of an opponent who already had at least a handful of bouts under his belt. "I wasn't expecting how much more high pace it is compared to just sparring."

"It's a different game, being in the ring - but it felt good to be in there."

Truth be told, all of the preparation in the world doesn't necessarily do justice to the learning that comes from actual fight experience. "It was my first fight, so I had a game plan coming in, but you do forget about it a little when you're in there."

"I did try some things that didn't go my way. Once it didn't go my way, I was fighting off instinct."

In De Leon, Toulouse was matched up against a fighter who reminded him of exactly what it will take to hold his own while competing in the 68kg division. "He definitely had the fire in his eyes; he was aggressive, focused," said the young man of Ojibway descent.

"I have to go after it even harder in training. I gave it my all in the first (round), but clearly I gassed out in the second."

Two bouts later, Dutrisac, a fellow Top Glove - Sudbury competitor, suffered the same fate as Toulouse and in many ways, offered somewhat similar reflections on his first fight, a setback at the hands of Kyle Russell (Sully's Boxing Club - Toronto).

"I thought it went really well - but it was way different than what I thought," said the 24 year-old Val Caron resident who first started his boxing training some two years ago. "When I first got into the ring, there were no nerves; I felt loose, I was moving around, I felt confident."

"Once the fight started, everything goes away - and not in a good way," said Dutrisac with a smile. "I stuck to my game plan in the first round, but the more you start to get exhausted, the more desperate you become, just throwing to throw."

"I kept hitting and standing still instead of moving like my game plan wanted to be. You learn - it's my first fight."

Making the move to boxing following a background in both weightlifting and bodybuilding in his younger years, Dutrisac was already discussing how to incorporate the lessons of his initial loss when he gets his next shot at securing a first victory in his new-ish sport.

"I need to think more the next time I am in there," he said. "I wanted to keep him at a distance, spin off and move around, which I didn't do too well. I wanted to go in there and overwhelm him, but he did fantastic."

"I did some of the things that I wanted to do, but not to the extent that I wanted to."

Both Toulouse and Dutrisac should take comfort, however. Though Austin Bayani is currently in his fifth year of competitive boxing, the 23 year old who moved to Canada from the Phillipines in 2011 still acknowledged that establishing a game plan and executing that game plan are two very different things.

"I wanted to be aggressive and keep him (Adrian Davin - Ottawa Beaver Boxing Club) on the ropes as much as I could," said the Brantford resident who makes the trip to Sudbury once a month or so to enjoy the training sessions offered by national level coach Gord Apolloni.

"In the first round, I really didn't do that until the end of the round. In the second round, he got a couple in. I kept backing up; I wasn't doing my plan. In the third round, I kind of got it together, but it was too late, unfortunately."

More than the others, Bayani found the inactivity of the pandemic to be as difficult a stretch as he has encountered since he first picked up the sport after growing up as a huge fan of countryman Manny Pacquiao back in his native land.

"It was mentally tough," said Bayani. "You're doing the same thing over and over and over and there's nothing to show for it. It was making me crazy."

Rounding out the card were the following fight results:

Fabiana Merli (Italy) beat Amilia Zang (Sully's Boxing Club - Toronto)

Michela Svarca (Italy) beat Sammi Umarzor (Ottawa Beaver Boxing Club)

Massimo Palmieri (Italy) beat Jacob Don (D.C. Boxing Academy)

Matte Omiccioli (Italy) beat Jason Marquez (D.C. Boxing Academy)