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They say age is just a number, which is most definitely the case when it comes to the man staring history in the face this Saturday night in Victoria, BC.

Jaye Byard will step in to the ring against Brandon Colantonio, 15 years older but comes in with a lifetime of experience in the boxing world compared to his opponent. It’s been a lifetime of hard work, dedication, and self-belief for Byard, and it all comes together this weekend.

When asked how he feels heading into this fight, Byard is ready to go. “I feel really good, camp was really a successful one, had good quality sparring, great training, the team is all on the same page and it feels really good to get back in the ring after a layoff of over a year.”

The last time Byard was in the ring, he made quick work of ‘Sugar’ Shane Upshaw via KO in the first round. “The whole fight, I was dealing with a lot of emotional stuff outside of the ring,” Byard said. “Really trying to keep it together, mentally, was a tough balance. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much in that fight, we came together two times, and it was over for Shane.”

This time around, there is a title on the line for Byard, vying to become the first ever WBC USA Bridgerweight Champion (200 – 224 lbs./91 – 102 kg), a title that was created in 2020 in honour of 6-year-old American Bridger Walker, who saved his 4-year-old sister from a stray dog attack. Byard, already the CPBC Classic Heavyweight Champion, has a chance to add another title to his resume.

“It sounds amazing,” Byard said of the chance to become a WBC title holder. “It feels like my dreams are on the horizon and are about to become a reality. All the work that I’ve done, since I was ten years old, it’s been my training camp and preparation for this fight. It hasn’t been 13 months of training for Brandon; I’ve been training for 35 years now.”

Byard knows that being the older fighter comes with its detractors, but that doesn’t seem to faze him.

“You can’t achieve anything in life without taking risks. I’m 44 years old, I’ve got 15 years on Brandon,” Byard said. “But for me, I love the challenge. You’re not going to get sympathy from anyone in boxing for being old, you make that choice to stick around in a young man’s game. I’m really looking forward to this fight; I’ve been ready for quite a while now. This past year, I haven’t been sitting around, I’ve not wasted any time.”

It’s going to be a historic night and with a chance to make history, Byard is ready to step up. If he’s successful, then I guess it’s a rough night for me. If I’m successful, I’m keeping it rolling. I’m quite confident about this fight, we’ve got a great strategy and plan, whether he wants to box and run or make it ugly, we’re happy to do either,” Byard said. “At the end of the day, we’re going to find out if their plan to shut me down is successful, that’s the beautiful sport of boxing.”

As the song goes, Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting, and you can bet Jaye Byard will be in on the action in the ring at the Bay Street Armoury in Victoria, BC, this Saturday night!

Tyson Taylor – Independent Sports Reporter