Introduction
*This where it all began in the boxing clubs of Canada from
Vancouver Island to Newfoundland. A good starting point for
any evaluation of the clubs is to view them through the pages
of Golden Gloves and other tournament history which began
in 1939 in British Columbia with the support of the Vancouver Sun
newspaper.
*BC Boxing Clubs (1939 - 1968)
There have been many different clubs that have operated during
this time period. Some that operated in the Greater Vancouver
area that are recognized as top clubs include:
Astoria Boxing, Club, East Vancouver Optimists, Hastings Boxing
Club, Ladner and Langley Boxing Clubs, North West Eagles,
Richmond Boxing Club, South Burnaby Boxing Club,
South Hill/Firefightersmm and Surrey Boxing Club.
In other areas there was the Port Alberni Boxing Club,
Nanaimo's Newcastle Boxing Club, James Bay Boxing Club,
Victioria's London Boxing Club, the Royal Canadian Navy
and the Queen's Own Rifles boxing programs, and the
Prince George Spruce Capital Boxing Clubs.
Beyond the Sixties:
*During the Seventies and beyond there would be many
other boxing clubs that would be part of
the new era from 1970 to 2012.
A sample of the boxing clubs include:
Cloverdale. Cranbrook Eagles, Mission City, Maple Ridge,
Nanaimo, 2 Rivers Boxing club in Quesnel, Kamloops,
Kelowna Boxing Club, Kingsway Boxing Club, Vernon
Boing Club, Crofton Boxing Club , Campbell River Eagles,
Victoria Athletics Boxing, Victoria Jaycees and the
Sooke amateur Boxing Club, Genesis Boxing Club
of Parksville, Captal city Boxing, and Williams Lake Boxing.
there were many other clubs that would see the light of day and some of them are still operating in British Columbia.
THE RINGSIDE BOXING CLUB of the Seventies
*During the mid-Seventies on of the new clubs in BC was the
Ringside Boxing Club under the direction of Daniel Neale.
Daniel Neale was from South Africa and while in BC in
those mid-Seventies, he was recognized as on of the
Most Promising Newcomer coaches of British Columbia.
As is often the case for many boxers stars, the sons of the
coach are often the main boxer in the club. For Ringside,
that was true with Daniels son Danny Neale who by June '76
had 13 bouts with 9 wins. Danny and was a Silver Gloves
champion of 1976 and a boxer in the 1975 and 1976 Emerald
Gloves. Two other boxers in the club were Alex and Thomas Bernard.
Duhamel Boxing Club
*Some folks may remember the Duhamel Boxing Club in the
mid-Seventies. Three of their juniors were"
Mike Bonneau, Alan Price and David Hodgkinson.
As of 1976, the outstanding boxer was ALAN PRICE.
He had built up an interesting record by mid-1976 with
a variety of tournament wins including:
1973 Kootenay Golden Gloves, 1976 Silver Gloves champion
and the Inland Empire Golden Gloves champ. Alan was also
part of the BC team that would travel to England in 1973 where
he would win three bouts.
BRITISH COLUMBIA CLUBS of 2012
*Clubs with a good public profile:
MISSION CITY BOXING CLUB -
http://www.missionboxing.com/
*Head coach is Dale Gatin who was the recipient of the
Coach of the Year award 2008/09.
*Two of the top boxers are Jessy and Cody Brown.
Jessy Brown is a recipient of the Jimmy Symes award.
and joins a long list of boxers such as Mickey Griffin,
Cliff Ballendine and Alan Brown.
NANAIMO BOXING CLUB:
http://www.nanaimoboxing.com/
The Nanaimo Boxing club has been operating since 1971
and is currently under the direction of head coach
BARRY CRESWELL.
*Over the 41 year period the club has been an
important part of the history of amateur boxing
on Vancouver Island.
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