Youth boxing athletes from Quesnel compete in historic Buckskin Gloves

Published 10:30 am Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Two Quesnel boxers stepped into the ring last month, competing on a big stage at the revived Bucksin Gloves tournament in Richmond.

On Friday, Feb. 20, the boxing ring at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond was packed with boxing fans eager to witness the comeback of Buckskin Gloves, a tournament organized by First Nations people coming out of residential school.

The 2026 edition was revived to honour those survivors and recognize the role boxing once played in many Indigenous communities across Canada.

Athletes travelled from across the country to compete, including two youth fighters from Quesnel: Ethan Bartholet (141 lbs, junior welterweight) and Karter Mott (147 lbs, welterweight) as they represented 2 Rivers Boxing.

Bartholet faced Keenan Fleet of Underground Boxing in Thunder Bay, Ontario, while Mott squared off against Stanley Dori Daniels of Razor Sharpe Boxing in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

For Bartholet, the event marked the farthest he has ever travelled for boxing.

“I was it was amazing. It was really, really fun down in Vancouver,” he said.

Bartholet lost a close decision but said the experience itself was a highlight.

“Oh, well, I wanted to win and I lost, but it was really, really close. Every round was close, but I had a good time, and that’s all that matters.”

He described Fleet as a challenging opponent who was really fast and had good cardio.

In preparation for the fight, Bartholet increased his training.

“I had a lot more sparring for this fight. And I came to class every day, came to the workout,” he said, adding that he is looking forward to keep competing this year.

One of the most memorable moments came after the bout.

“Well, after the fight, my opponent actually, he gave me the boxing gloves that you win for winning the fight. So it was pretty memorable. That was very nice.”

Mott, meanwhile, earned a victory in his welterweight bout and described the event as professionally run and exciting to be part of.

“I liked it. It was real nice. Pretty professionally done,” he said.

Mott said he felt in control throughout the fight.

“It was good, I managed to get the win, which is what I was looking for. Feel like it was a pretty dominant performance. Got to kind of stick to range with my jabs. Practically won the whole fight on straight punches. It was nice.”

His opponent, Daniels, had travelled from Winnipeg and was competing in his first bout.

“I know that was his first fight. And I think he did good for his first fight, you know, hit me with a nice overhand. And that was, he’s used pretty consistent with those,” Mott said.

In the third round, Mott landed a decisive punch.

“Third rounds of my fight, I landed a nice overhand right and that that won me a standing eight count, which is, it’s kind of like a knock down, but the referee is pausing the fight before the knock down happens,” he added.

Mott had only about three weeks to prepare for the bout due to school commitments and illness.

“I was doing some workouts at home. It was kind of hard to train for this fight, though, like, semester was ending in school, so I had to, like, focus on that a lot. So, I only had three weeks to train for this fight,” he said.

Both fighters are already looking ahead to future bouts, with potential competition in Surrey at the end of March and another local show expected in Quesnel in early May.

Beyond the competition, the meaning behind the event stood out to Mott, whose family has been personally impacted by the legacy of residential schools.

“The Buckskin Gloves event is to pay respects to residential school students, because they boxed back in the day for residential school students. They would hold Buckskin Gloves,” he added. “My great grandmother, she was a residential school survivor, so she went through that.”

Their coach, Wally Doern, praised both fighters’ performances.

“They both did very well. I was happy with their performance,” he said. “Karter fought a real tactical bout, very smart bout. Ethan’s bout was more of a crowd pleaser, but it was a very exciting bout to watch. The attendance there was, it was a full house at the River Rock Casino, and the whole show was centered around to honour the BC Buckskin Gloves to try to bring that tournament back. And they were very successful at it.”