Spokane heavyweight Pat Ferguson pulls surprise

The USA Boxing National Championships veered into the realm of a “Rocky” outtake Wednesday afternoon, with a session-ending bout full of wild haymakers, ridiculous momentum swings and head-snapping jabs.

Pat Ferguson absorbed some and delivered more, and in the end the Spokane heavyweight stood tall as the day’s unlikeliest winner.

The 23-year-old home-care aid, with just 10 amateur fights behind him, slugged out a unanimous decision over veteran Manny Contreras of St. Paul, Minnesota, to the delight of a small cheering section at The HUB Sports Center.

“He hurt me – with the first shot, really,” Ferguson admitted. “He hits hard.”

But the Lewis and Clark High School grad packs a punch himself, enough that the referee gave Contreras a standing eight count in the second round after a wild exchange in which he’d careened off the ropes and was buried under a flurry of blows.

“I wanted to use my skills,” Ferguson said, “but I wound up relying solely on determination.”

Now Ferguson, who trains at BoxFit, moves into the quarterfinals against USA Boxing’s No. 2 heavyweight, Sardius Simmons of Flint, Michigan.

“I don’t think anybody here expected Pat to win a fight,” said his trainer, Chauncy Welliver. “But it’s about heart as much as experience.”

John Blanchette