CANADIAN GOLDEN GLOVES - Looking back & Looking forward

CANADIAN GOLDEN GLOVES tournaments: by brian zelley

Link to the past - a blueprint for the future

BC GOLDEN GLOVES - Looking back & Looking forward

* with the start of the initial Canadian  Golden Gloves tournament,
we have no idea if it will be an annual affair that reaches
 year 2020 and beyond. 

But, the success of the original "Sun Golden Gloves"
and the first six to seven years provides a perfect blueprint 
Boxing Canada as this tournament moves into subsequent years.

2013 CANADIAN GOLDEN GLOVES CHAMPIONSHIP

The Birth of the Canadian Golden Gloves:

Introduction:

Tucked away in the body of a Boxing Canada story by

Raquel Ruiz on June 2, 2013 was reference to a first ever

Canadian Golden Gloves Championship to be held in

Cornwall, Ontario in July of 2013.

Nine days later, on the Boxing Canada site there was an

announcement of the tournament with the headlines:

"Inaugral Canadian Golden Gloves Championships.

In that article, the key spokesperson to talk about the event  

was Robert Crete of Boxing Canada.  Also, president 

Pat Fiacco had a small bit to say about the future.

Some specific details of the event are:

Location and site: Nav Centre in Cornwall, Ontario

which was the site of the 2012 Women's Elite 

Intercontinental tournament. 

Visions from the Past: 

* there has been no clear identification as to what factor

determined to host this first ever tournament, but there was

a time tracing back to 1946 in British Columbia when one of 

the key individuals behind the start of the Golden Gloves in

British Columbia by the name of William J. Finlay made his

hopes, wishes and dreams for the Canadian Golden Gloves.

"Billy's dream" was published in the 1946 "Sun Golden Gloves:

program February 14, 1946 on page five.  Now 67 years later

Billy's dream back in Vancouver, BC in 1946 is to become a reality

in Cornwall, Ontario in July 2013.

Names In The News: pre-tournament buzz 
* some of the expected boxers in the tournament are being 
mentioned in various newspapers in places like Brandon, 
and Cornwall. 

In the "Brandon Sun", Chris Jester's article was titled
"Brandon boxers set for Golden Gloves" mentions 
Natasha Armstrong and I. Hayden as two of the Brandon
based boxers.

Some names from Alberta ready for action are:
Eric Taylor, Robbie Cusine and Gwyn Lewis.  Taylor will
be in the crowded men's senior lightweight division with 
some top names such as Brad Katona of Manitoba,
Jag Seehra from British Columbia and David Gauthier
from Quebec. 

Good Vibrations from Boxing Canada
http://bit.ly/18lBu3m
* Some quality pre-tournament buzz from Boxing Canada
Raquel Ruiz leads the charge with a July 16, 2013 story.

Local Muay Thai fighter kicking it up notch

Boxer Cody Crowley involved in the boxing part of the gym.
Local Muay Thai fighter kicking it up notch

BOXING CANADA and PROVINCIAL ASSOCIATIONS

Whose who of Boxing Canada: by Brian Zelley

Ranking the boxers and builders

RANKING THE MANY NAMES:
*  Over time there will be changes in the 
rankings.  But, as of June 15th. the rankings
list has ANDREW KOONER at number one.  

http://www.ranker.com/list/boxing-canada-2000-to-2013/bzelley

July 5th.  Andrew is still in the top five at 4 spot.

Boxing Canada - 2000 to 2013

Canadian Amateur Boxing - the here and now:
  By Brian W. Zelley

Boxing Canada - 2000 to 2013  - The Link to the names
The above link gives a list of some of the names that created
 the buzz.  The beginning of this new era took began at the
2000 Candian senior nationals that took place in late 1999
in Campbell River.  But, many of the names listed in this
story were active in prior decades.

Beyond 2013:  the road ahead:  

The road beyond 2013 is now being carved out by the many
boxers from coast to coast in the Provincials as they 
prepare for action in October 2013 in the Nationals where 
the senior open boxers will be trying for a shot to make the
Canadian Commonwealth Games boxing team to engage in
medal hopes in 2014 in Glasgow.  Members of the current 
A and B teams will also be engaged such as Kenny Lally
Alex Rynn, Custio Clayton and Brody Blair.

 Brody Blair, Custio Clayton and Kenny Lally
will be ready willing and able to regain the title,
but the question that will fall on the shoulders of 
Prince George's Ken Lally will be what division will
he challenge to make the Commonwealth Team. 

THE ROAD WILL BE  A ROAD OF GLORY and PAIN 
And how many can be expected to survive the demands
and the ordeal, the rules and the regulations, 
the demands and the setbacks to be the
one to claim  "Gold in Glasgow"

The Rules before the free ticket is distributed:
* Boxing Canada lays down the challenge to one and all:

The Twisted Highway where only the strong of body and spirit
will survive to fight another day in Glasgow 2014.

Beyond the training camps and competition and they have not
even reached the starting gate for  Canadian team selection
to travel down the boxing highway to  glory and/or gold, or the
that much used path of broken dreams along the road to nowhere.

Step By Step to the open door or standing on the sidelines saying goodbye:

Then comes Christmas and will it be coal dust and a cloth to
wipe away the tears, or a two way ticket to glory and fame.
November 19 to 23rd. 2013 will be what we call the last chance.
But, even victory in the great box-off parade will not be a solid
guarantee for selection to the team, and some winners know 
very well how that sometimes plays out be it 1984 or any other
year.  And, that last cut, if any, is the deepest cut of all
and could send some to a new journey in a dark dark
place when the lights slowly fade to black. AND, WHO 

will be there to pick up the pieces of the broken heart
and a damaged spirit???

BOXING CANADA 1990 to 1999

BOXING'S SUCCESS JOURNEY -
 for Canadian Boxers: by Brian Zelley
 The link: BOXING CANADA 1990 to 1999

One of the threads on the tapestry of Canadian amateur boxing
 in the nineties was thevarious teams holding the medals from
 one of the many international tournaments, and the
nineties journey would include the individual tournaments
 from the late 1989 National championships for 1990, and
the box-off action, past the Goodwill Games and the
Commonwealth Games of 1990 to the process of
building a team for the 2000 Olympic Games.

Between those two points of action and success there are
hundreds of stories along the journey of each boxing club,
each event, eah team  and each player in the game.

*  Every decade has a story, and every name on the page
 has a story,  and for many names on the page, they have 
some common clubs, events or stories.  To begin the story
of the nineties, we must also  go back to 1969 when Boxing 
Canada called by the name of Canadian Amateur Boxing Association
began and the road to glory and success was built by 
one boxer, coach and official at a time.

Back to the early days of the post 1968 eras takes us
to 1970 with the faces  on the wall of the many that 
were a part of the change from the old to the new.

BacK to the Nineties for the story:
There are a 1,000 different stories of Canadian
amateur boxing in the Nineties.  Each thread on
the tapestry tell a different part of the story
and like the stars in the sky at night
each one shines but they all have a
different glow.  And, when we  see that 
shooting star that is just another 
lost warrior saying goodbye.

The Champions of 1990
* Domenic Filane Figlioment, Graham McIntosh,
Michael Strange, Billy Irwin, Jim Worrall, 
Chris and Greg Johnson, Raymond Downey,
Pat Jordan and Vernon Linklater.

Some of the other names of those engaged in
the Nationals or the box-off competition were:
Marc Leduc, Ron Paskie, Curtis Hatch, 
Randall Thompson, Lyndon Linklater,
Gary Wood

1990 Commonwealth Games:
* the Canadian medal winners:
Domenic Filane Figliomeni, Vernon Linklater
Geronimo Bie, Greg Johnson, Ray Downey,
Dale Brown, Patrick Jordan and Chris Johnson.

The other Canadians on the 1990 team were:
Graham McIntosh, Billy Irwin, Michael Strange
and Jim Worrall.

1991: Another step in the Journey

For 1991, there would be those 
returning champs from 1990 but
also some faces from the past 
such as Steve Beaupre and others
Marc Leduc and Tom Glesby.

The main tournament for some of 
the members would be the 1991
Pan Am Games with medal winners:

Billy Irwin, Greg Johnson,
Chris Johnson, Dale Brown,
and Tom Glesby 



1991 Canadian Winter Games action:
There was also some interesting amateur
boxing on the National front with the
"Canada Winter Games" and some were:
Steve Lowry, Jason Towns, Jason Adair, 
Ward Fleming, Henry Valdez, Bryan Mackie,
Billy Joe Bjornson, Stephen Gallinger, 
Sylvain Leblanc, Gale Shannon, 
Hank Doherty and Gerard Penney

Laverne Roach - A Fallen Boxer

   LAVERNE ROACH, tragic boxing: by brian ze;;eu                                                               

Laverne Roach - Boxer 

Roach is a former National Golden Gloves champion who turned

pro in 1945.

Canada in 2013 Ken Goff Memorial Boxing Classic

CANADIAN AMATEUR BOXING 2013 Action: by Brian Zelley
Canada to face new opponent in Ken Goff Memorial Boxing Classic

Team Canada Boxers to face Puerto Rico:

File photo:








Expecting to see action to-date on May 24th.
* Kenny Lally, Michael Montgomery, Alex Rynn, 
Arthur Blyarslanov, Brody Blair and Custio Clayton.
Likely, another Cnadian boxer will be added to the
roster to compete.

Canadian amateur boxing

CANADIAN BOXING EVENTS IN ONTARIO:

MMA Crossfire – Canadian amateur boxing wrapup – April 9th | canada.com

THE BUILDERS OF AMATEUR BOXING

THE BUILDERS: 

 

Introduction by: Brian Zelley

* Over the last couple of years, much efforet has been utilized to

 outline the stories of the amateur boxers of Canada from international

gold, silver and bronze medal winners or titles in various

International tournaments from Golden Gloves and Diamond Belts

to various shows in International activity.  But behind and leading 

each  boxer there are countless coaches and officials that made it

 possible and  the boxing media that told the story. 

The British Columbia Amater Boxing Hall of Fame

Starting in 2010 folks in British Columbia have already
recognized some of the builders by selection in that
category and those picked.

                                           Charles John and George Shiels
                                                   Campbell River Eagles

in 2010 they were Dave Brown, Elo Ius, Fred Fuller, 
Pat O'Reilly and Rick Brough.  But even some of
those selected as boxers have been standout builders such as 
Harold Mann and Frank Scott.  Others would
follow in 2011 and 2012 such as Bert Lowes, Charles John,
George Armson, George Shiels, John O'Shea, Lennie Walters,
Roger Adolph and Tommy Paonessa.

For 2013 there have been many nominated and are now
 standing in line:  Dick St. Louis, Ed Williams, George Nepper,
Boyd Bayne, Jimmy Gallagher, Jim Howie,  Ralph Galloway,
Ron Whalley,  Vic Murdoch and Wally Doern.

Ontario Amateur Boxing Hall of Fame - 2012

http://bwzontarioboxing.blogspot.ca/

Volunteers for the Ontario amateur boxing community have

also started to recognize the builders of boxing with the

Ontario amateur Boxing Hall of Fame and they also picked

a few builders in the first list of 18 inductees:
Dennis Bradley, George Fraser, Jerome McComb and Joe Sandulo.
But boxers such as Billy Irwin and Chris Johnson are now
involved in coaching"

             former boxing great and now coach Billy Irwin and boxers

Canadian Amateur Boxing Wall of Fame

http://cabhof.blogspot.ca/

Bob Edgett, an icon of New Brunswick Boxing

A cross-section of builders or boxer/builders:
* A sample of the selected 55 for January 1, 2013 are:
Alison Arsenault, Bill Arsenault, Billy Irwin, Bob Edgett,
Bryan Gibson, Chris Johnson, Dave Hilton sr., Ed Blanchard,
Frank Scott, Gaby Mancini, Ginnie Brown, Harold Mann, 
Jerry Shears, Joe Sandulo, Kai Yip, Marg O'Reilly, Pat O'Reilly,
Roger Adolph, Rosemary Page, Taylor Gordon and Wayne Gordon.

  Frankie Scott with team mates and coach Harry Twist

   

 

2012/2013 Canadian Amateur Boxing events

THE AMATEUR BOXING ROAD 2012/2013

Sometimes the year following an Olympic Games does not get the
traction but there should be some good cards and bouts
as we approach 2013.

One of interest on December 1st in Winnipeg is what is billed as
WINTER BOXING CLASSIC hosted by the Orioles Boxing Club.
Should see boxers from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and North Dakota.

CANADIAN AMATEUR BOXING WALL OF FAME

A WALL OF FAME OF OUR OWN: by brian zelley
*the final selection for January 1, 2013

*Recently steps have been taken to begin the process of forming
a "Canadian Amateur Boxing History and Wall of Fame".
In-order, to make this a possibility and a success some
important steps are needed.

Provincial Committees:
To ensure this becomes an all-inclusive project, it is
important to have regional or provincial groups to
focus on their individual history and potential 
nominees that could be recommended to a 
National Committee that should be comprised of 
at least one member of each regional or provincial committee.

Provincial Amateur Boxing Halls of Fame:
*British Columbia started the process in 2010 and has
nominated many and selected a number of individuals
that should be candidates for the National Wall of Fame.

*Ontario began in 2012, and has a list of 18 that have been
picked in the first year, and a list of at least 36 nominees
for 2013.   It is likely, but not limited to, the 18 inductees
and the other nominees where the logical choices would
be selected for the National Wall of Fame.

*There are committees for some of the other regions
including Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and
the Maritimes consisting of the combined group
of Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

The Nest Step:
*Over the months of October to December 2012, attempts
will be made to build-up volunteers for the various support
groups, and the National support group before an official
"CANADIAN AMATEUR BOXING WALL OF FAME" is 
established.  

THE TARGET DATE FOR THE FIRST SELECTION
*The logical target date would be 2013  So,
 the process of selecting
nominees by each regional committee, and then
having the National committee review all of the names
submitted.  From the list of names the national group
will then select a number to be determined for induction.

CANADIAN BOXING REGION BY REGION;
*As part of the process, the country has been segregated
into four regions: The Maritimes, Quebec, Ontario and
Western Canada (BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba)

THE WALL OF FAME blog:
http://cabhof.blogspot.ca/
one of the initial posts was titled:
"From Idea to Action - Canadian Amateur Boxing"
Another one was titled:
"Western Canadian Amateur Boxing Committee"
To expand on this Western Canadian boxing topic
another block has been set up for them:
http://zelleyonamateurboxing.blogspot.ca/

Zelley On Boxing

Zelley On Boxing
Covers a variety of topics including the boxing story of
numerous individuals. Some of the stories are about the
following:
Michael Strange, Paul P-Mac MacKenzie, Alan Brown,
Gordie Lawson, Alex Rynn, Kenny Lally, Marc Leduc
the Campbell River Eagles Boxing Club. and more

CANADIAN BOXING HISTORY

CANADIAN BOXING HISTORY: by brian zelley
A new block has been created to recall the history
of amateur boxing by subject matter.

CANADIAN BOXING, BLUEPRINT FOR CHANGE

BOXING CANADA PLANS FOR CHANGE: By Brian Zelley

GETTING BEYOND THE HERE AND NOW
A good starting point for members of BOXING CANADA
as they prepare a stategic plan for the next 8 years that will
include the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games.

The starting point was the 40 or so members from across Canada
that took the time and effort to discuss and plan for
a bright future in Canadian amateur boxing.

It is unknown at this date how the plan will be finalized,
but a wise thing that should be done is for the proposed plan
to be drafted into a discussion paper so all interested individuals
and groups are able to review, discuss and comment on the key issues
and suggestions. In recent days, some members of BOXING NOVA SCOTIA
have been studying the strategic plan. Hopefully, once they get a full
understanding of the issues and proposals constructive comments will
be possible. It is hoped that members of other Provincial Associations
will get the same opportunity to participate in this member focused plan.

BEYOND THE PLANS COMES THE ACTION

ACTION IN 2013 BEYOND THE PLAN

*A classic case of success was the 2013 CANADIAN GOLDEN GLOVES

BOXING in NEWFOUNDLAND to NOVA SCOTIA

BOXING in NEWFOUNDLAND: by Brian Zelley

NEWFOUNDLAND BOXING FLASHBACKS 1997

The sport of amateur boxing on the Island of Newfoundland is not
as high profile as many other Provincs, but they do have a history.

JUNE 1997 MOMENTS TO REMEMBER

DOUG FOWLER would be re-elected for his sixth ther
as president of BOXING NEWFOUNDLAND. Some of the
other names of interest were Randell Rideout,
Kevin Greeley, Ian MacNeil and Mike Summers.

Some of the boxing clubs were:
Conception Bay South Boxing club,
Hilltop Boxing Club and Twin Cities Boxing club.
One of the boxers to remember was Donnie Hunt.

THE HERE AND NOW, 2000 to 2011
The Republic Boxing club and two key names associated
with the club are Jason Hayward and Eddie Raymond.
Around 2005/2006, Hayward was a fine young featherweight boxer.

In 2008, Jason "Too Sweet" Hayward was training
in Halifax, Nova Scotia and fighting as a super bantamweight
and a bantamweight. He briefly held the Canadian Super
Bantamweight title from October 2006 to March 2007 and in 2008
he lost to Andrew Kooner for the Bantamweight title.
he

PAN AM GAMES

CANADIAN PAN AM GAMES BOXING:
PAST and PRESENT CANADIAN BOXING
by brian zelley

As Canadian boxers prepare to participate
in the 2011 Pan Am Games in Mexico, it is
a good time to flashback to past tournaments
to touch on the history and the acnievements
of the many boxers such as 1975 Gold medal
winner Chris Clarke. One of the 2011 boxers
that hopes to follow in the footsteps of Clarke
will be BRODY BLAIR.

FLASHBACKS 1967
As we look back one of the teams was the
1967 team including Walter Henry, Frank Scott,
Wayne Boyce, Gerald Ratte, Dick Findlay,
Freddy Fuller, Donato Paduano and Marijan Kolar.

BOXING CANADA The Road Ahead

THE NEW BEGINNING FOR CANADIAN BOXING; By Brian Zelley

Before we can start the NEW BEGINNING for 2011/2012
we must ask the following question:
are BOXING CANADA, The provincial associations and
each and every amateur boxing club READY,
WILLING and ABLE to meet the challenge of
GROWTH, OPPORTUNITY and ACTIVITY or will it be
BACK TO BLACK?

THE FOUNDATION
The foundation starts at the club level and each
club must be given the support and encouragement
from their Provincial Amateur Boxing Associations
to participate, and the starting point is growth,
followed by an opportunity to have regular boxing
cards and to work with other regional clubs for
greater training opportunities and activity.

BC Hall of Fame

2011 nominations - 24 Choices

no decision has been made, but by July 1, 2011 it will be time to
consider the 24 choices by the administrators and then the second year
for the BRITISH COLUMBIA AMATEUR BOXING HALL OF FAME will be complete.

Boxer Alan Brown in black at the 1984 Canadian Olympic team training site.

DAVE WYLIE

Dave Wylie along with 1967 opponent and 1968 teammate Freddy Fuller.
Dave was named BC  Diamond Boy in 1967

JAMIE OLLENBERGER

Two-time BC Golden Boy,Jamie Ollenberger was a popular boxer who would turn pro.
sadly, he was lost in 1991 from a vehicle crash.