A 17-year-old Richmond boxer capped off his season winning the national U19 boxing championship title for the second time in a row.
Julian Agelakis competed in the 2025 Canadian Junior and Youth National Championships and defended his championship title in the U19 55-kg weight class.
The Kitsilano secondary student has been boxing since he was around five years old and has competed in many national and international competitions since then.
Winning the Canadian championship title wrapped up an exciting year for Agelakis, especially after securing a top-five finish at the World Championships in Pueblo, Colo., gold at the Brampton Cup in Ontario and gold at the Canada Cup in Calgary, Alta.
Most recently, Agelakis secured bronze earlier this month for Team Canada in the 55-kg weight class at the 2025 Brandenburg Cup in Frankfurt Oder, Germany.
During the tournament, a suspected thumb fracture had him withdraw from his match against England and pulled from the London Youth Boxing Tournament as well.
"I felt really down about it because I was looking forward to going to London," said Agelakis.
"It was unfortunate that the injury took place, but it is what it is."
The boxer trains out of Monarc Boxing and Fitness in Vancouver and has returned to the gym after about two weeks of recovery from the match.
Next, he's preparing to compete in Jamaica and Portugal in 2026.
He added he has set his eyes on winning the provincials this upcoming season.
"I'm feeling great about the next competition with the thumb being all healed up."
Agelakis' goal right now is to train and prepare for the 2028 Olympics.
The national team in Greece has shown an interest in Agelakis competing for them in the next Olympics because of their Greek heritage, according to George Agelakis, Julian's dad.
However, George said Julian will represent Canada in the next Olympics if he is selected.
"He's going to box for Canada, because we live in Canada. Therefore, we will represent Canada," said George.
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