MANITOBA AMATEUR BOXING

MANITOBA AMATEUR BOXING

From out-off the ring dust of yesterday to the achievements of
current boxers, officials and coaches, Manitoba Amateur Boxing
has and will provide some rich history to Canadian Amateur Boxing.

Two stars of the past that also had some activity in British Columbia
were EDDIE HADDAD and BILLY PINKUS.

EDDIE HADDAD

There have been a few stories touching on the achievements of
Eddie Haddad. Some of them can be found on the pages of a
"Sports Hall of Fame". For Eddie, they include Canadian Forces,
Greater Victoria and Manitoba Sports Halls of Fame.
Another story is written on the wall of "Tragic Boxing Stories
& Lost Warriors". The specifics may be cloudy, but in Hope, BC
Eddie was killed in a road accident.

KEN JOHNSON - A SHOT FROM THE DARK

Len Johnson was well known in boxing circles beyond the borders
of Manitoba. By 1984, his son KEN JOHNSON had hopes and dreams
to make the Olympic Team. But his hopes and dreams were dashed
beyond the ring activity.

In 1984, Ken Johnson faced BC bpxer and a Canadian champion
WAYNE WELSH in Olympic Box-off action during the staging of the
Junior Nationals at Burnaby in the BCABA's boxing training centre.
Ken won the ring fight, but was overlooked when the final team was
selected that included Willie deWit, Shawn O'Sullivan, Dale Walters,
Steve Pagendam, Wayne Gordon, Lennox Lewis, John Lalbhenn,
Rick Duff and Billy Dunlop.

Johnson has not been the first to be left off of a Canadian Amateur Boxing team,
and he will not be the last. The story of boxing is scattered with lost hope,
wishes and dreams of many - sometimes it is freak or poorly timed accident,
but then again sports politics from a Provincial to a National and a
International level often delivers the fatal blow like a shot from the dark.