SYDNEY, N.S. —
Published: May 19 at 3:23 a.m.
Boxing fans chant the name of their local fighter as a Cape Breton Island flag waves proudly in the air.
As the well-lit Centre 200 goes dark, fans quickly rise to their feet to welcome to the ring the professional boxer they’ve all come to see.
The cheers and applause of 3,158 fans become even louder as Frankie MacDonald holding a Cape Breton flag leads Ryan (The Bruiser) Rozicki of Sydney Forks into his bout with Shawn Miller of Troy, N.Y.
Walking towards the ring, Rozicki is greeted by his supporters tapping him on the arm and back as he walks past on his way to the centre ring.
Not only was the Rozicki and Miller bout the main event of the All or Nothing boxing card, it was also a fight for the WBC International Silver cruiserweight championship.
The 24-year-old Rozicki didn’t disappoint his hometown fans as he captured the prestigious belt with a third-round knockout victory.
Rozicki’s record improves to 10-0-0, while Miller’s record falls to 18-5-1. The win marks Rozicki’s third championship victory in less than a year.
Rozicki, who turned professional in 2016, captured the Canadian Professional Boxing Council’s North American cruiserweight title in May 2018 in Sydney, before adding the WBA NABA Canadian cruiserweight title last October in Hamilton, Ont.
“Everything that (coach) Stevie Bailey and I worked on went as planned, we trained for (Shawn) Miller for 10 weeks,” said Rozicki following the bout.
“Miller basically did everything we were expecting him to do and I took advantage of it.”