Crowley aims for title
Boxer holding benefit for Hospice Peterborough at Pizza Hut on Wednesday
Cody Crowley is hoping for big things in 2017 including fighting for a Canadian championship in Peterborough.
The 23-year-old Douro native is ranked third in Canada in the welterweight division by the Canadian Professional Boxing Council. He hopes to translate that into a shot at the Canadian title in 2017 and his dream is to host it at the Memorial Centre.
Crowley, who is home for the holidays and lives and trains in Las Vegas, is coming off a Dec. 10 third-round technical knockout of Adrian Nunez in Tijuana, Mexico. It improved his professional record to 10-0 with five knockouts. Crowley has signed to fight for the second time at Mississauga’s Hershey Centre on Feb. 25 against an opponent to be determined.
He says he’s already negotiating to make his 12th fight for the Canadian belt if he wins in February.
“This fight sets up my future of fulfilling my dream of fighting here in Peterborough,” said Crowley.
While his ultimate goal is to win a world championship, Crowley said a Canadian title is an important step along the way.
“It’s a milestone,” Crowley said. “I have really big aspirations and dreams in the boxing world of being a world champion, but this is definitely one of the milestones that would be fundamental for me. It’s one of my lifetime goals.”
Crowley’s most recent fight was taken on short notice to keep busy and get a fourth fight for the 2016 calendar year. His opponent was a last-minute fill-in who weighed 164 pounds, 17 above Crowley’s weight class. He accepted the opponent not realizing he was six-foot-four until he got into the ring. It didn’t matter as Crowley got inside on Nunez and took him down with body blows. It was Nunez’s third loss against three wins.
“He was a giant,” Crowley said. “It was another good learning experience having to adapt to the conditions I was in. The first round I felt him out and then I pressed him and got inside and stopped him with a nice body shot in the third round. He couldn’t recover from it; he couldn’t get up. It was my first body shot KO So I was happy about that.”
Before heading back to Las Vegas next Thursday, Crowley is going to hold a fundraiser at the Lansdowne Street Pizza Hut where his girlfriend Taylor Ellis works. They’ll be raising funds for the Hospice Peterborough Care Centre, in honour of Anita Blackbourn who lost her battle with breast cancer in October. She is the wife of Pizza Hut co-owner Chris Blackbourn.
Crowley said living so far away from home has given him a real Douro native and professional boxer Cody Crowley, who now lives in Las Vegas, trains at the BEL Boxing Club on June 25, 2015. Crowley hopes to fight for the Canadian welterweight championship in the new year. appreciation for his hometown and he’d like to try to give back to the community he says has shown him so much support. He’ll be at the restaurant to sign autographs and take photos Wednesday from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Pizza Hut will donate 10 per cent of all sales during his appearance to Hospice.
“Any time I needed help in Vegas there is nobody there. It’s like survival of the fittest when you’re in a big city,” Crowley said.
“I didn’t realize the whole community aspect of Peterborough until I left. If you’re in need here in Peterborough, you don’t hesitate to knock on your neighbour’s door and ask for help because the community always comes together. Moving away from that really opened my eyes to how much small communities play a role.”
He hopes to see a big crowd at Pizza Hut to support the cause.
“Myself and I’m pretty sure everyone else in Peterborough has been touched by cancer,” Crowley said. “It’s a phenomenal cause.”
has tickets for his next bout, ranging from $30 to $50 for stadium seating and $100 for floor seats and will hand deliver them to anyone interested prior to Thursday. Call or text Crowley at 1-705-927-8692. U.S. college Sun Bowl, Stanford vs. North Carolina, CBS. Spengler Cup semifinal TSN. Peterborough Petes at Kingston Frontenacs, TV Cogeco. p.m. World junior championships: Slovakia vs. Latvia, TSN. NHL: Nashville Predators at St. Louis Blues, NET. Spengler Cup final, TSN. a.m. English Premier League: Leicester City vs. West Ham United, NET360. English Premier League: Swansea City vs. Bournemouth, TSN. U.S. college Citrus Bowl, LSU vs. Louisville, ABC. Centennial Classic alumni game, Toronto vs. Detroit, NET. p.m. U.S. college, Louisville vs. Indiana, CBS. English Premier League: Liverpool vs. Manchester City, NBC and TSN. p.m. Winter Classic Alumni game, Chicago at St. Louis, NET.