If it was Chris "Bukwas" Anderson's final bow as an amateur fighter, he ended that portion of his mixed martial arts career with a bang.
Just ask his opponent Mazadak Pourbohloul, who felt that bang in the form of an overhand right that crashed him to the canvas and caused the referee to stop the fight and award Anderson a KO victory at 2:42 of the second round.
The action came May 30 at River Rock Casino in Richmond at Battlefield Fight League 36, where Anderson made his first defence of his BFL amateur welterweight championship. The Comox Valley Boxing Club & MMA competitor dominated both rounds of the scheduled five-rounder.
It was his sixth straight win and improved his record to 8-2-0. "I feel lucky every time I get out of there without a serious injury. Winning on top of that is nice," said the soft-spoken, hard-hitting Anderson, who is now considering turning pro.
"I think so," he said of the decision. "Even when I was (in Richmond) there there were some guys in the locker room saying,'You should already be pro.' That was kind of nice. I'm just trying to get the experience. It's good that other people are telling me I'm ready."
Tapology.com seems to think he is ready – they have him ranked #1 of 91 active Western Canadian amateur welterweights and #1 of 300 active Canadian amateur welterweights.
Anderson was definitely ready for his title defence. "In the first round I hit him with a lot of good body shots and a good body kick. I dropped him two or three times. The kick hurt him then I jabbed him and he went down. Then I dropped him with a good left hook.
"There was a lot of boxing, a lot of body shots and he was stumbling and I'd get on top and get a little ground and pound. The ref wasn't stopping it so I'd get up and we'd do it all over again."
After dominating, Anderson found himself pinned against the cage as the round ended. He made sure that situation didn't recur in the second round.
"It was much like the first. A lot of body shots. I dropped him a couple of times. It was an overhand right that finished him off. He went down and I didn't even pursue him. It was the fifth time he'd gone down and the ref stopped it."
While Anderson made it look easy, he admitted, "That was one of my toughest fights. He landed a couple of big shots … that moved me quite a bit," said Anderson of Pourbohloul, who dropped down from middleweight for the fight and who Anderson noticed was "taller and wider than me" at the pre-fight stare down.
Pourbohloul, who fights out of Titan MMA in Port Moody, had won his first three fights by first-round submission.
With the May 30 decision in the books, the decision to turn pro won't come immediately as Anderson is taking the summer off to rest a couple of minor injuries and tend to some joint pain incurred during "a straight year of fighting and hard training."
He is considering returning to school for diving and first aid courses with an eye to joining his fellow First Nations friend at a new fishing business in Tofino.
Turning pro involves joining an organization, and Anderson is leaning toward Battlefield. "They have offered me a contract but I'm just not ready. They wanted me to fight in July (as a pro) but I'm just not prepared for that."
Long-term, Anderson says he will take things one fight at a time and see where that takes him. He notes that in the pros, the bigger the show, the bigger the prize money.
"In Ultimate (Fighting Championship) you only need three professional fights to apply. Maybe I get the right four or five fights and I look good, I might have an actual try at that."
Pursuing a pro career might mean training at world-class facilities in Thailand, Las Vegas or California, although Anderson notes the Zuma gym in Victoria is one of the best in Canada – and much closer to home.
Another consideration is a couple of new techniques he must work on. "Elbows are allowed (in pro) and knees to the head (only allowed to the body in amateur). Those are dangerous strikes, and the (rounds) increase to five minutes instead of three."
Anderson thanked his coaches, training partners and sponsors who have supported him, including Edward & Parnell Barber Shoppe, On The Dark Side Tanning, Photo Tech foto source, Urban Smoke Shop, Island Bison and JumpCamp.
More info is on his Facebook page Chris 'Bukwas' Anderson and on YouTube at Christopher Anderson.