Weighing the odds of a successful comeback (seen in the Vancouver Sun)

Boxer Steve Lowry, once touted as a potential Olympian, is getting back into the ring for the next Rumble at The Rock in Richmond. He is training at the Fraser Arms after an eight-year hiatus. Photograph by: Steve Bosch, PNG, Vancouver Sun

Steve Lowry once had a promising future in the ring, but after stepping away to raise his daughter, he’s answering the bell one more time.

By Yvonne Zacharias, Vancouver SunMarch 25, 2010He was once the golden boy of the ring, a guy with blazing hands and a head that moved as though dodging phantoms.

Once touted as a potential Olympian, Vancouver boxer Steve Lowry gave up his shot at glory for the daughter he loves, coupled with one senseless loss in the ring that sent him reeling.

Now, after an eight-year hiatus, the former Golden Gloves amateur is stepping back into the ring at the age of 36 for the seventh Rumble at the Rock pro boxing card on Saturday, at the River Rock in Richmond.

Before training this week at the boxing club under the Fraser Arms Hotel, the super lightweight admitted he was nervous. Really nervous.

But when he put the boxing gloves on for the first time after all those years to start training in mid-January, it felt right to him.

“It felt like riding a bike. Obviously the conditioning wasn’t the same as what I was used to 10 years ago, but I was making guys miss and landing jabs. It felt awesome.”

He got the idea for a comeback last November when he went to the U.S. to watch his girlfriend, Sarah Pucek, box.

The first thing that strikes you when you meet him is how small he is. The next thing you notice is that he has a small voice to match his diminutive stature. No bravado here. He is five-feet-five on a good day and weighs in at 144 pounds, although he hasn’t always been so slim. The fighter, who once ballooned up to 200 pounds, watches his diet.

Putting in around 100 hours every two weeks in his job as a construction safety officer and first aid attendant, the Williams Lake native has had a hard time finding the time to train. But he has been sweating and swinging in the ring below the Fraser Arms faithfully for 3 to 3 1/2 hours a day, six or seven days a week, training with Dave Schuck, who runs the gym. The two have been coaching together here for a couple of years. They’re good friends.

Lowry moves his head a lot in a peekaboo style and likes to throw combinations. One of his weaknesses is his tendency to drop his left hand. His age and size could also work against him as he takes on 23-year-old Will Williams of Portland, Ore.

With a younger guy, “the first thing that comes to mind is sharper reflexes, so I am hoping to discourage him from throwing his jab.”

Lowry is coming in with a professional record of 4-1-1, with two of those wins being knockouts, while Williams sports a 2-1 record.

Schuck has a message for Williams: look out.

“I think this kid he is fighting is in trouble. I think this kid is looking at Steve’s age and the inactivity. I don’t think he knows the amateur pedigree that Steve comes from. I think this kid is probably coming in here thinking he is going to be fighting an aging guy. Well, Steve is a young 36. He has fought some of the best fighters in the world.”

Wally Jorgensen, one of Williams’s handlers, said he knows the fight against Lowry isn’t going to be a cakewalk, but Williams is likely up to it.

“Willie never had any amateur fights, but he has spent a good share of his life in the gym,” Jorgensen said. “Willie is a decent fighter. It will all depend on how badly he wants it when he gets there.”