Perhaps it's because of the exposure it's getting from Hollywood heavyweight Million Dollar Baby or the reality-television show The Contender. Whatever it is, the popularity of boxing is increasing.

And proof of that locally is that former Canadian Olympic fighter Manny Sobral can't keep up with the demand from people wanting to climb into the ring at his North Burnaby Boxing Club.

"It's like a high-school basketball team; I've got to make cuts," he says with a laugh. "I've got a 43-year-old, I've got kids as young as 12, I've got a third-year med student, and a stockbroker. All these people with so many different background-it blows me away.

"There's no question boxing is back on the rise. When I was an amateur in the mid-'80s, there was a big wave of interest, and then it sort of died out in the '90s, but there's no doubt it's on the rise again. And the movies and the TV stuff, that's good for the sport."

Sobral, who posted an impressive 130-11 record as an amateur before turning pro following the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, tried to walk away from the sport a few years ago. But having been a boxer since he was 13, the 36-year-old realized the fight game was more than a passion. It was almost a calling.

Knowing that he wasn't going to step between the ropes and lace up the gloves competitively any longer, Sobral, who by day is a teacher of at-risk youth in a Vancouver school board program at Britannia secondary, realized the best way to stay in the sport and to help expose it to others was to get into training.

"I know I've had my day, but I still love it a lot," he says. "After retiring as a pro, I moved to Las Vegas for a couple of years in the late '90s and was around a lot of great trainers. I picked their brains. It's not like there's one guy who's the greatest trainer, and there's no one way to train a boxer. It's a mind game, and it's about getting the best out of the boxer."

And that's why just over a year ago, Sobral and a buddy started the North Burnaby Boxing Club. There had been local boxing at the North Burnaby Inn before it disappeared in the wake of the Casinogate scandal that brought down Glen Clark.

Sobral wanted to give those NBI pugilists and anyone else who wanted to take a shot at the sport somewhere to train. With help from the city of Burnaby, Sobral found space at the Burnaby Resource Centre, and the North Burnaby Boxing Club was born. And it didn't take long before people were punching down the door to get involved.

"I think the main reason most people take it up is to let off a lot of steam," Sobral says. "It's a great way for women to get in shape. And actually, women make better boxers than men because guys just want to punch. But women want the technique. Women want to know how to punch."

To that end, Sobral says he's not at all surprised at the mental makeup of the people taking up boxing these days.

"When people think of boxers, they think of people who are down-and-out, but that's not the case at all. Lots of these boxers are quite sharp. You have to be to actually understand boxing and all the strategy and when and how to throw a punch, and how to take one, too."

Although almost all of Sobral's club members are involved in the sport for a good sweat and perhaps the opportunity to release some pent-up anger, he does have at least one fighter bent on following in the teacher's footsteps.

Sobral is working closely with Jeremy Phillips, a 20-year-old Burnaby native who's showing plenty of promise as a welterweight (at 152 pounds). Phillips has his eyes set on wearing the maple leaf in Beijing in the 2008 Olympics-two decades after Sobral did the same thing in South Korea.

"He has the ability," Sobral says of his protégé. "He just has to keep it together mentally."

Manny Sobral the boxing instructor will do all he can to help Phillips keep it together when Manny Sobral the promoter gets his prizefighter back in the ring later this month.

The NBBC is holding its third Boxing Canada-sanctioned amateur event on April 29, pitting some of the best boxers from the club against top fighters from around the province and some from Washington state.

"We had about 800 people come out for the last event, and NBBC did really well," Sobral says. "We didn't win all the bouts, but we did well. I'm expecting this one to be standing room-only; we'll probably have to turn people away. I don't want to have to do that, but that's probably what will end up happening."

Sobral says the fight crowd, like the boxers in his club, represents a cross section of the general population, from the business crowd to those who want to see some blood.

Friday Night Fights, Round 3, will consist of 12 bouts featuring men, women, and youth boxers in a variety of weight classes. Most of the fights on the card will be scheduled for three rounds, with the more experienced boxers getting a chance to slug it out for four.

The event takes place at the Burnaby Resource Centre at 250 Willingdon Avenue (near East Hastings Street), starting at 7 p.m. Ringside seats are $25, with general-admission tickets going for $15.

Jeff Paterson hosts Sportstalk Weekend on Saturdays and Sundays, 9 p.m. to midnight, on CKNW. E-mail him at jpaterson@cknw.com.