Roxie Lam is a deeply spiritual person, and a seriously talented fighter, who believes that his faith in God lends him strength in the ring
The Ram, a devout Christian, will fight Friday night in downtown Calgary in the Teofista Series 16.
Roxie (The Ram) Lam (5-0, 3 KOs) faces his “toughest fight to date” at the Chinese Cultural Centre against Kyle Oliveira (1-1, 1 KO), according to Lam’s trainer Eric De Guzman.
Oliveira, although an inexperienced professional boxer, has a three wins and one loss pro mixed martial arts career, and a first-round boxing knockout last month against the experienced Antwan Robertson who has a total of 23 fights.
“He’s coming off of an impressive first-round win about a month ago actually. He kind of fights like a mini Mike Tyson,” De Guzman said.
Lam is not worried about Oliveira.
Lam explained that he was more nervous to fight his last opponent, Wayne Smith, than he is about this upcoming bout.
He originally passed up the opportunity to fight Smith, but the opponent he was supposed to face April 3 injured himself, so Lam ended up fighting Smith instead. Lam noted Smith had earlier fought to a draw against Justin Hocko, a three-time national amateur champion.
Roxie Lam focuses intently on his training while hitting the speed-bag at Teofista Stables.
Photo by Tyler Klinkhammer
Although Lam didn’t believe he was ready for a fighter of Smith’s calibre, “The Ram” defeated his opponent after a dicey first round in which Lam was rocked by a vicious hook that nearly finished him.
“In the last fight, being knocked down and being able to come back from that, it felt like I was on auto-pilot,” Lam said. “I don’t know how I do it. As a Christian, you talk to God, and he talks to you through people, and so many different things.
“I find my strength in God.”
Lam, a devout Christian, believes his boxing abilities are closely tied to his spirituality.
“It’s everything,” said Lam about his faith. “I know that without Him, without God, being able to push me and drive me and just push me a little further, further, further each time . . . to be winning and to be able to pull off these victories.
“I feel like I had the victory before the fight even began,” Lam explained. “There’s so many scriptures in the Bible where God goes in beforehand and routs your enemies. I feel like that’s what he did for me.
“It’s the whole reason why I am fighting, is because I feel like this is God’s will for me,” Lam said. “I don’t know what he has planned, I don’t know what step this is towards what. I enjoy it, don’t get me wrong. It’s one of those things that when you’re doing something that God wants you to do, it’s kind of like you’re co-operating with Him.”
During his last fight, Lam was introduced as “Calgary’s most exciting fighter” by announcer Tim Sweet. When asked why he felt he was given this introduction, Lam laughed: “Because he’s nice? I don’t know. I fight with — I don’t know — raw passion and raw emotion. I’m trying to learn how to box, and be so much of just a fighter. It’s kind of my strength and my weakness.”
Alvin Chan, another of Lam’s trainers, believes Sweet had another reason for dubbing Lam “Calgary’s most exciting fighter.”
“It’s him. Coming at you all the time. He’s coming at you, whether he’s getting hit or not. Preferably we don’t want him getting hit that much, but full pressure, all the time,” Chan said.
Chan believes Lam’s biggest asset in the ring is his heart.
“He’ll just keep coming at you. His heart and his work ethic — it makes it easy and a pleasure at the same time to work with him.”
Regarding Lam’s spirituality, Chan said he doesn’t “know too much about what he does there, but it seems to keep him calm, keeps him clear, gives him purpose. And structure. Roxie needs, and he likes—I don’t know if he likes it—but he needs structure. And it gives him that last ounce in the ring, too.”
Roxie Lam (right) poses with his trainer, Alvin Chan (left).
Photo by Tyler Klinkhammer
Although Lam is talented and determined, he is not without his doubts when it comes to fighting.
“One of my last thoughts before entering the ring was, ‘Why do I do this to myself?’ It’s so stressful. I think that’s the hardest thing, besides the physical training, is the stress of it. The stress of fighting, the stress of getting in the ring, the stress of dieting,” Lam said.
“When you follow Jesus, it costs you everything. It’s kind of like boxing, it costs you everything, but the reward is immeasurable. It’s priceless.”
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the first bell is at 7 p.m. Tickets are available through Ticketzone.com and start at $50.
To contact the editor responsible for this story; mkadey@cjournal.ca