Crowley blazing trails
Douro native to headline second pro boxing card in city next Saturday
Cody Crowley is blazing trails in professional boxing never seen before by a Peterborough boxer.
Crowley will headline his second pro card in his hometown next Saturday when he defends his Canadian Professional Boxing Council (CPBC) super-welterweight international title against Jamaica’s Richard Holmes at the Memorial Centre. On Saturday, he held a public workout and meet and greet at Lansdowne Place.
According to boxingrec.com, the official tracker of professional boxing results, it is the fifth time a professional boxing match has been held in Peterborough; the fourth being Crowley’s May 10 victory over Mexico’s Edgar Ortega to win his title before 3,500 fans at the PMC.
Prior to that the last professional boxing card in the city was on May 22, 1981 and featured five pro bouts and two prominent Toronto fighters from the 1980’s; Nick Furlano and Eddie Melo. In the main event Furlano defeated Philadelphia’s Quentin Blackman by decision. Each bout featured a Toronto boxer but no one from Peterborough.
Prior to that, boxingrec.com lists two other professional fights in the city. They were two weeks apart in 1931 featuring the same fighter. Details are limited but according to the web site each event had just one pro bout and no venue is listed for either other than Peterborough, Ontario. The first occurred on Oct. 30, 1931 with Jack Dane making his professional debut against Fred Douzart who was also participating in his first pro match. Dane won by knockout in the fourth round of a six-round contest. Dane’s third pro fight was on Nov. 13 in Peterborough when he fought a much more experienced Doug Lewis, who entered with a 20-8-1 record. They fought to a four-round draw. Dane went on to fight 16 times losing three of his last four bouts to retire with a 10-4-2 record with six knockout wins. He fought half his fights in Canada, mostly in Toronto, and half in England. Little information is available on Dane including where he is from.
There are no records of any Peterborough native boxing in his hometown prior to May 30 when Crowley, Jay Corcoran and Andrew Slade all fought here for the first time as pros. Corcoran returns next week for a rematch with Napanee’s Jason Kelly who won a close decision in their four-round bout.
Crowley is proud of his hometown and it’s why he’s made the effort to bring pro boxing here.
“I realized I was the first one to do it and to be the first from Peterborough to win a professional title and to actually be a contender in the sport,” said Crowley, who sports a 12-0 record with six knockouts. “I hope it brings some motivation to people and some kids who think they really can’t do anything because they are from a small town. I hope people see what I’m doing and recognize they can change things, too.”
While Crowley lives and trains in Las Vegas and has had more fights outside of Canada, home is never far from his thoughts.
“The amount of support I have from everybody is totally amazing. I truly feel when I’m fighting here in Peterborough, it’s not just me fighting. I feel like I have everyone behind me backing me up.”
Crowley says he’s bothered to see news that Peterborough has the highest jobless rate in the country, that factories are closing, that young people feel they need to leave the city to find work. If his success can be any kind of a rallying point or a source of pride, he’s happy to do it.
“I hope I can help bring stuff to the city and help keep it alive,” he said. “Next Saturday when I’m in that ring I truly feel like I’m fighting for the city.”
On Friday, a public weigh-in will be held with all participants from the fight card at The Social Pub (formerly Sin City) starting at 6 p.m.
Crowley said at this stage he has no confirmation that Floyd Mayweather will be coming to Peterborough for the fight. Mayweather said at a press conference prior to his fight with Connor McGregor last month he would be in Peterborough to support Crowley who served as his sparring partner. Crowley said Mayweather is in Toronto on Thursday for business and he hopes Mayweather comes but he has no confirmation right now the multi-time world champion will be here.