Sports Briefs February 2015

World Champ Seeking More Titles

A Native boxer who already is a world champion will be seeking to win two more prestigious belts in her next fight.

Kali Reis, who has Cherokee, Nipmuc and Seaconke Wampanoag ancestry, captured her first world title, the women’s International Boxing Association (IBA) middleweight championship, during a bout held in Bermuda in November.

Reis, who lives in Providence, Rhode Island, will head overseas for her next fight. She will battle Germany’s Christina Hammer in a bout scheduled for March 7. That fight will be held in Magdenburg, Germany.

Quite a bit will be at stake in this bout. Hammer is the reigning World Boxing Organization champion and she will be attempting to defend her belt. The winner of the Reis/Hammer fight will also be awarded the vacant World Boxing Council belt.

Reis, who turned pro in 2008, will enter that bout sporting a 7-3-1 record. Hammer has an unblemished 17-0 mark.

Reis had also fought for another world title, the Women’s International Boxing Association welterweight crown, back in November of 2013. But she lost that encounter to Virginia’s Tori Nelson.

For Reis, the fight in Germany will mark her third consecutive bout on foreign soil. Besides her last fight in Bermuda, she had also travelled to Spain this past July for a fight that she ended up winning against a Swedish rival.

Prior to that, all of Reis’ other fights had been staged in the United States.

In order to increase her North American popularity, a Reis spokesperson said her management team has discussed the possibility of having an upcoming fight in Canada as well. 

Jon Mirasty is still earning a living as a fighter, er, hockey player.

The 32-year-old Cree from Meadow Lake, Sask., known primarily for his fighting skills, is currently toiling in the Quebec-based Ligue Nord-Americaine de Hockey (North American Hockey League).

Nicknamed Nasty Mirasty for his pugilistic ways, he’s on a team called Sorel-Tracy Eperviers.

The club was atop the standings of the eight-team circuit as late January was approaching with a 22-5-1 record.

Mirasty has appeared in 10 games for the Eperviers. He has been credited with two goals and one assist.

And as one might expect, Mirasty, a fan favourite wherever he has played, has also racked up his share of penalty minutes. Though he has only played in 10 games this season, Mirasty has been assessed 82 penalty minutes.

This marks Mirasty’s second consecutive season with the Sorel-Tracy squad. He also spent portions of three seasons with the organization about a decade ago. During his pro career, Mirasty has also suited up for a number of other clubs.

The highest level he played in North America was in the American Hockey League, a step below the National Hockey League. He was a member of the AHL’s Syracuse Crunch for three and a half seasons, starting in 2007.

He also played in the East Coast Hockey League with the Elmira Jackets, Bakersfield Condors and Greenville Grrrowl.

Mirasty also had stints in the Russia-based Kontinental Hockey League where he played for a team called Chekhov Vityaz during the 2012-13 season and with a club dubbed Astana Barys the year before that.

He also suited up for the United Hockey League’s Danbury Trashers and the Central Hockey League’s Fort Wayne Komets.

A pair of First Nations from northern Ontario will join forces to serve as hosts for this year’s Little Native Hockey League (NHL) Tournament.

Despite the fact the organizers are based in the north end of the province, the 44th annual tourney will continue to be held in the southern Ontario city of Mississauga. The Six Nations Minor Hockey Association had hosted the tournament the past two years in Mississauga. The Whitefish River First Nation and the Aundeck Omni Kaning First Nation will co-host this year’s tournament.

Opening ceremonies for the event are scheduled for March 15. Tournament action will then run from March 16 to March 19.

A total of 10 divisions will be contested at this year’s youth tournament. Girls will be competing in Atom, Peewee, Bantam and Midget categories. Boys will participate in these four age groupings as well as Tyke and Novice divisions.

A record 164 teams competed at the 2014 Little NHL.

As in the past couple of years, the majority of the tournament matches will be held at the Hershey Centre, which is also home to the Ontario Hockey League’s Mississauga Steelheads, and Iceland.

Both of these facilities feature four ice pads each.