'I want that glory': Whitehorse boxer fighting to bring the sport back to Yukon

Mponda Kalunga is a fighter in every sense of the word.

He first fell in love with boxing when he saw Mike Tyson knockout Francois Botha on TV at the refugee camp in Tanzania where he grew up. 

"Seeing how this moment literally made everything stop … the good and the bad, just for this moment that … always stuck to me," he said. "That's the feeling. I want that glory."

Kalunga's search for glory has been a long one.

He was born in Alexandria, Egypt, which is why he boxes under the name The Egyptian Prince. He started boxing at age 16 after he moved to Newfoundland as a child, and became a pro-boxer fighting out of Toronto before the pandemic hit.

For almost two years, he has been living and fighting out of Whitehorse, sometimes commuting over 5,000 kilometres just to get to fights.

Kalunga is ranked second in his division in the country, according to Box Rec, and is on an eight-fight winning streak. Right now, he's up for a Canadian Super Welterweight title, and if he wins it would be his first.

He's also working with his team to organize a professional title fight in Whitehorse. If he's successful, it would be Yukon's first professional boxing match in over 100 years.

"This is where I feel I must spend the rest of my life, and I feel like this is an introduction to the people," he said of the territory. "This is where my heart is."

Kalunga is the first professional boxer to fight out of Yukon in decades.

To properly train for fights, he flies down to Ontario one month in advance just to make sure he gets in time at a proper gym. He even sleeps at the gym, just to save time.

"It's a lot of work. It's harder. But it's welcomed, so I'm not going to complain. I'm not gonna make excuses … I'm very lucky to do that, and I'm