BISMARCK, N.D. (KXNET) — North Dakota boxer Virgil Hill visited Bismarck this week to receive a big award, but it would be a lie to say that he received a warm welcome — at least, as far as the state’s weather is concerned.

“They wanted me to get the full flavor of North Dakota because there is snow in October,” he joked.

Hill now lives in California, where he trains boxers (and doesn’t have to shovel snow), but he says he enjoyed a chance to return to North Dakota — the place where he grew up and learned the sport he would later master.

His last boxing match in 2015 also occurred in Bismarck, during which he fought and defeated Jimmy Campbell with a TKO in the second round.

But this wasn’t just a there-and-back trip for Hill: he also notes that he was able to pack in a few more fun stops during this visit to the Peace Garden State.

“I was in Grand Forks for the hockey game,” Hill recalled, “then the next day, I was in Fargo for the football game. Then we came up here, and we’ve been just zipping all over the place, trying to get in as much as we possibly can.”

Governor Doug Burgum presented Hill with the Rough Rider award on October 30 — making him the 48th person to receive the coveted title. His portrait will now be hung in the state capitol.