Winning a gold medal in his first official bout had nothing to do with beginner's luck for 17-year-old boxer Roan Evans-Ehricht.

No, his first title had everything to do with three years of hard work paying off handsomely, said Yukon Boxing head coach Jess Staffen.

"This is his third year boxing, and he's been working his tail off the whole time,” Staffen told the Star. "He's become quite a student of the sport who does a lot of research and practising on his own, as well as at the club.”

Evans-Ehricht returned home a champion from the Alberta Bronze Gloves boxing championships in Stony Plain, Alta., but that wasn't his only accolade. He was also voted best boxer of the tournament by a panel of judges. The amateur event featured more than 60 boxers.

"It was amazing,” Evans-Ehricht said. "This is the best start I could have had, obviously. I wanted to give it my all, 120 percent, but I definitely didn't expect to be named top boxer.”

Evans-Ehricht won two bouts en route to a gold-medal finish in the 75-kg division. Despite facing an Albertan boxer nine years his senior in his first bout, the Yukoner won via a third-round TKO by utilizing superior movement and body shots.

Then in his second fight, this time against a 16-year-old, Evans-Ehricht's quick hands and strong counter-punches earned him a first-round TKO.

"I knew he would do fairly well,” Staffen admitted. "We've been doing a lot of work together, and he's got a lot of natural talent. I'm not surprised he won, but it was fantastic to see him dominate as much as he did.”

Staffen said the bout marks somewhat of a revival for the oldest organized sport in the territory.

"We've been around for a long, long time, but in a sense, it is a bit of a revival,” he said.

"We haven't been able to send fighters out for quite a while. We just haven't had the uptake of young people that we've wanted.”

Last year, Evans-Ehricht and his older brother Perrin attempted to compete at an event in Calgary in March, but were unable to be matched up with suitable opponents.

Evans-Ehricht said he took up boxing because the reliance on individual wits, strength and grit appealed to him. He said his "respect” for the sport has only grown since he first stepped into the ring.

Evans-Ehricht is a student in the new sports school run out of F.H. Collins Secondary School. He said the school experience has been nothing short of "amazing,” and attributes his current fitness level to the program.

The young boxer said he will continue to try and improve by slimming down and sparring with a variety of different partners. He hopes to compete Outside again next spring.

Yukon native Jared Nolan, now training out of the Avenue Boxing Club in Edmonton, secured a silver medal in the super heavyweight division at Bronze Gloves, scoring a first-round TKO in his first bout, before dropping the championship match by decision.