Canadian Boxing—What Resurgence?
Way up in the rafters, you can hear conversations about Durelle, Chuvalo, the Hiltons, Gatti, Pep, Gray, Melo, and so many others…
“Some of the great names in boxing history—the likes of Sam Langford, Tommy Burns, Jimmy McLarnin and George Chuvalo, amongst scores of others—made Canadians proud as established, top-level fighters.”—Jake Emen
“USA was great to me. That was around the time that Sean O’Grady was doing the commentating, and Sean was a great guy. I love Sean and he was always fair in any comments he made about a lot of the fighters that I have heard him commentate about. The USA boxing program was absolutely incredible. I was happy to be a small part of people’s enjoyment when they turned on the TV to watch boxing.”—Scotty “The Bulldog” Olson
Back in the Day
The notion that Canadian boxing is undergoing a resurgence of sorts is totally false. Boxing in Canada has enjoyed a rich and enduring tradition which goes back well before “The Fighting Fisherman” Yvon Durelle participated in perhaps the greatest fight in history against Archie Moore in 1958. Heck, bantamweight George Dixon (1870-1908) was the first black world boxing champion in any weight class, while also being the first ever Canadian-born boxing champion. Canadian boxing history includes names like Hall of Famer Jimmy McLarnin (54-11-3), Jack Delaney (77-12-2), Hall of Famer Tommy Burns (48-5-8), Bob Cleroux (48-6-1), Hall of Famer Lou Brouillard (108-29-2), Durelle (87-23-2), and legendary heavyweight George Chuvalo (73-18-2). Of course, listing the names of all notable Canadian fighters would require more space that I am allotted.
Durable John “Jackie” Callura (59-41-12) fought between 1936 and 1947 with his biggest win coming against Jackie Wilson (90-22-8) for the NBA featherweight title in 1943. Callura boxed an amazing 874 rounds during his career.
Fan favorite Donato Paduano (43-9-2) won his first 16 fights, winning the Canadian welterweight title against Joey Durelle (60-7-4) in 1969. He then beat Irish Pat Murphy (25-0) at Madison Square Garden in 1970 and whipped Marcel Cerdan Jr. (47-1-1) also at the Garden in 1970. He won 22 straight before losing to future WBA lightweight champion Ken Buchanan (37-1). Paduano lost his Canadian title to rugged Clyde Gray (24-1 coming in). Gray would go on to chalk up an old school mark of 69-10-1 boxing between 1968 and 1980 and fighting an inordinate number of tough opponents. His last fight was a KO over Allen Clark. Gray had waxed Clark’s brother Chris (19-0) a year earlier in Halifax.
The aforementioned Chuvalo (who lost two of three to fellow Canadian and vastly underrated great Bob Cleroux) fought just about everyone during the ‘50s and ‘60s as did Cleroux (48-5-1).
Lightweight Johnny Summerhays (40-22-3) was stopped only once and that was by Frankie Benítez in 1974 in Madison Square Garden. He split a pair with Canadian warrior Gaétan Hart and beat Terrence Alli in 1982
More Recent
“I was happy I’d won. But a few seconds later when I turned around to see Denny still lying on the mat, I thought to myself, ‘Oh no, oh no.’”— Gaétan Hart
“It (Hart vs. Nicky Furlano) was for the Canadian Lightweight title, and it was one of the greatest fights in Canadian boxing history, especially with a Canadian title on the line.”—Russ Anber
Gaétan Hart (57-31-5) was a lightweight/welterweight who was a three-time boxing champion in Canada. He lost his only world title bid against the great Aaron Pryor in 1980. Unfortunately, Hart is most remembered for his fights with Cleveland Denny and Ralph Racine. Denny died 16 days after being knocked out by Hart in 1980. He fought Denny thrice going 2-1. Just six weeks before fighting Denny, Hart knocked out and disabled another young Canadian lightweight, Ralph Racine, who later slipped into a coma but thankfully survived.
The two fights between Eddie Melo (32-9-2) and Fernand Marcotte (53-14-4) are part and parcel of Canadian boxing lore. Melo won the first one by SD in 1978 at the unheard of age of 17. He lost the rematch by MD in 1979. The two fought to a draw in 1980. The first fight was a great one, but the rematch was just as good. Around this same period during the ‘80s, fighters like Nick Furlano, Mario Cusson, Chris Clarke, and Jean-Claude LeClair were front and center as well. Furlano’s fight with Hart in 1980 is also considered one for the ages. Having twice engaged in furious wars, the third fight between the two is what many remember as the best of their trilogy. Hart won the all-action fight by split-decision, avenging his loss to Furlano seven months prior. It was toe-to-toe all the way.
Donny “Golden Boy” Lalonde had a great and high profile run finishing with a 44-5-1 mark with 36 knockouts. His career, interrupted by many retirements, spanned a period of 23 years from 1980-2003.
Shawn O’Sullivan (23-5) and heavyweight Willie Dewitt both won silver in the Olympics and had success in the pro ranks during the 80s and 90s. Dewitt finished with a 21-1-1 record and became a lawyer.
Nick Rupa toiled as a middleweight in the ‘90s and finished with a fine 32-8-1 record as he fought particularly rugged opposition.
The Hiltons, Gattis, Lucas, and Ouellet
Who could ever forget the Fighting Hiltons (Alex, Dave Sr., Dave Jr., and Matthew)? When these controversial men fought, the fans packed venues to the rafters. Davey Sr. (67-16) won the Canadian featherweight title in only his sixth fight. Davey Jr. (41-2-2) won the WBC super middleweight champion from Dingaan Thobela in 2000. Matthew became the IBF light middleweight champion defeating Buster Drayton in 1987. He retired atypically early at age 27 with a final record of 32-3-1. Alex (37-11), Joe Gatti’s brother-in-law, was the only Hilton not to win a world title.
Eric Lucas (39-8) battled from 1991-2010. He won the vacant WBC super middleweight title in 2001 with an avenging KO of Brit Glenn Catley. Stephane “Le Poète” Ouellet (29-5) stopped Alex Hilton twice but lost two of three to Dave Hilton. His first KO loss to Dave came with 18 seconds remaining in the 12th and final round in an unforgettable fight that “Le Poete” was winning when Hilton came back to win in this classic Francophone vs. Anglophone rivalry. Arguably, it was the greatest fight in Québec’s modern era and it happened before 17,000 fans crammed into the Molson Centre. The Canadian middleweight title was at stake. Ouellet later avenged the defeat.
The Gatti brothers—Arturo and Joe—had a similar impact on Canadian fans. In a face-off between two Montreal boxers, the legendary Arturo retired Romanian-born Leonard “The Lion” Dorin (22-1-1) with a single body shot in the second round of their fight in 2004. It was one of many memorable fights by “Thunder.”
Other Notables
Jamaican-Canadian heavyweight Trevor Berbick (49-11-1) made his mark, but ended up a tragic figure. Another Jamaican-Canadian-English heavyweight named Lennox Lewis (41-2-1) was anything but tragic as he retired as the undisputed world heavyweight champion. He suffered only two losses, both of which he avenged by stoppage. Lewis won the heavyweight championship three times and was the fourth man to reclaim the lineal championship. He holds dual British and Canadian citizenship. Kirk Johnson (37-2-1) was from Nova Scotia but never realized the potential he displayed in the amateur ranks. However, he did manage some impressive wins along the way including a brutal KO of Oleg Maskaev in 2000. As an aside, his 2006 bout with Javier Mora ended by ND in the seventh round when Johnson suffered a dislocated knee. The facts and circumstances involved in that decision could have served as a precedent in the recent Hopkins-Dawson debacle but inexplicitly were never mentioned.
In a rematch of the 1988 Middleweight Olympic finals, Guyana-born Edgerton Marcus lost to undefeated Henry Maske in 1995 in Marcus’ 15th fight as a pro. In 2001, Marcus was later stopped by fellow Canadian Donovan “Razor” Ruddock (38-5-1). The Jamaica-born Razor fought a high level of opposition and held his own against the best including champions Mike Weaver, Mike Tyson (twice), Tommy Morrison, Greg Page, Michael Dokes, James “Bonecrusher” Smith, and Lennox Lewis. Ruddock was one of those who fell into the category of “The Best Fighter Who Never Became Champion.” Tyson called Ruddock the hardest puncher he ever met.
Edmonton heavyweight Ken Lakusta ran up a less-than-stellar record of 22-23-1 and he was chilled a startling 17 times, but he likely fought the stiffest opposition of any Canadian fighter in history. Among his eye-popping opponents were Francois Botha, Davis Tua, Larry Holmes, George Foreman, Tommy Morrison, Razor Ruddock, Michael Dokes, Willie Dewitt (twice), Rodney Frazier, Frank Bruno, Trevor Berbick, Pierre Coetzer, Steffen Tangstad, and Mark Carrier.
Jamaica-born Otis “Magic” Grant (38-3-1) turned pro in 1988 and captured the vacant WBO middleweight crown in 1997 with a decision over Ryan Rhodes in England.
Popular and durable Tony Pep (44-10-1) was a road warrior who was as game as they come but had a knack for losing every time he stepped up. He fought between mostly 1982 and 2001, though he came back to beat one Leonardo Rojas in 2008.
Referee Marlon Wright (of Bute vs. Andrade fame) went 10-1 as a welterweight, avenging his only loss by beating tough Alain Bonnamie (21-9-3) in 1992. Alain went 2-2-1 against the Hiltons. He lost to Nicholson Poulard (17-3) in his last fight in May 2011.
Billy “The Kid” Irwin (42-6) was stopped in his last fight but that was the only stoppage this teak tough lightweight ever suffered. Along the way, The Kid won a number of regional titles and pleased fans in the process as he seldom left anything in the ring. Chad “Bad Intentions” Brisson (22-2) is making a comeback after a long layoff and has won 12 straight since losing to Irwin in 1996. Fitzroy “Fitz the Whip” Vanderpool won five professional titles; the Canadian Professional Boxing Federation title, the WBF Intercontinental title, the WBC Welterweight Fecarbox title, the WBF Super Welterweight World title, and the WBC Super Welterweight Fecarbox title. His brother Syd “The Jewel” Vanderpool (35-4), who had a win against Glen Johnson in 2000, won an IBF Super Middleweight Title Eliminator against Tito Mendoza but then lost his title bid when he stepped up in 2004 and tangled with a prime Jeff Lacy.
Québec native Hercules Kyvelos won his first 22, but then he ran into Antonio Margarito in 2004 and that was pretty much the end of Hercules.
Nigerian-born and Halifax-raised heavyweight David Defiagbon (21-2) made his mark as well before retiring in 2005.
Two female fighters warrant mention. Jaime ”The Hurricane” Clampitt (21-5-1) won a world championship in the lightweight division but was TKO’d in the first round by Holly Holm in her last outing in 2010. Canadian-born and highly talented Jessica Rakoczy boxed professionally from 2000 to 2009, amassing an impressive 31-3 record. She was a three-time WIBA World Champion and NABAW Lightweight Champ.
Present Scene
An infusion of Haitian and Romanian born fighters like Jean Pascal (26-2-1), Lucian Bute (30-0), and Adrian Diaconu (27-3) has riveted attention to boxing in the province of Québec and may have reinforced the false notion of a resurgence, but the fact is the new fighters have connected with fans in much the same way that older Canadian fighters did. There are many ex-champions, contenders, and top prospects in Canada including heavyweight Bermane Stirverne, comebacking Joachim Alcine (33-2-1), Adonis Stevenson (16-1), still viable David Lemieux (25-2), Antonin Decarie (26-1), undefeated light welterweight Dierry Jean (20-1), two-time IBF super bantamweight titleholder Steve “The Canadian Kid” Molitor (34-2), Sebastien Gauthier (21-3), the sensational and lightning fast Pier Olivier Côté (18-0), streaking and fun-to-watch Mikael Zewski (12-0), Romanian-born “Jo Jo Dan” Ion (26-2) whose only two defeats were to Turk Selcuk Aydin, Logan McGuiness (16-0) who recently shocked and KOd former title contender Benoit Gaudet, and Guyana-born cruiserweight Troy Ross (24-2).
Speaking of Molitor, he beat the always exciting Scotty “The Bulldog” Olson (35-4-2) in 2002 in Scotty’s last fight, but during the Bulldog’s prime run in the ‘90s; Olson was a popular and highly entertaining fixture in Las Vegas and on TV and his connection with fans was electric. In 1994, he won the IBO flyweight title and successfully defended it six times, but in-between he lost to future Hall of Famer Michael Carbajal in a bruising fight in 1997 for the more prestigious IBA title. There wasn’t a fight the Bulldog participated in where he left anything in the locker room.
In summary, there has been no resurgence. These days, the Bell Centre in Montreal and the Pepsi Center in marvelous Québec City have become the meccas of Canadian boxing, and men like world champion Lucian Bute, Jean Pascal, and Pier Olivier Côté continue to bring thrills to the Canadian boxing fanatics. But way up in the rafters, you can hear conversations about Durelle, Chuvalo, the Hiltons, Gatti, Pep, Gray, Melo, and so many others.
