Hometown in boxer Lucas Bahdi’s corner
Niagara Falls mayor, former amateur boxing great visit pro fighter’s old-school training camp
COVID-19 has indefinitely knocked out Niagara Falls boxer Lucas Bahdi’s plan to fight before upwards of 2,000 hometown fans at Gale Centre.
Big Lights, Big Nights had been scheduled to take place last Saturday night, when Bahdi hoped to improve his pro record to 10-0 with a victory in the main event.
With recreational facilities in Ontario closed until the end of June and the Canada-U.S. border remaining closed, the 26-year-old lightweight doesn’t know when — or where — his next fight will be.
But Badhi is determined to be ready when that time comes. He has been following an old-school training regimen on a rural property on the outskirts of the city.
His self-isolation is self-imposed and intended to concentrate his focus solely on training. The motorhome he is living in doesn’t have a working TV, freeing him from the distraction of overloading on COVID-19 news.
“It’s another way to stay positive, because watching the news and watching all the things that are happening all over the world is so negative,” Bahdi said after he began his back-to-basics training in early April.
His daily workouts consist of running and chopping lots of wood.
“It’s an extremely good way for explosive exercise,” he said. “It’s really good for everything, to be honest, like muscle endurance.”
Except for his new manager, Phil Lo Greco, and his coach from Guelph, Stevie Bailey, Bahdi has had few visitors home away from home.
He recently welcomed two more. Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati and Coun. Mike Strange stopped by to tell Bahdi he can count on the city being in his corner.
“We want to do all we can to support him, to encourage him, and we realize, too, that boxing is a big sport,” Diodati said. “We’d love to make Niagara Falls the boxing capital of Canada, and you can build a franchise like that around someone talented, like a Lucas, because he will draw in other great boxing people.
“Before you know it, you’ve got this boxing community that is nurturing each other, supporting each other and helping to build an industry that has a lot of attraction.”
Diodati is “really impressed” with an up-and-coming boxer that he watched box at Scotiabank Convention Centre, among other venues.
“Everybody who is involved in boxing says the same thing, that this kid is the real deal,” the mayor said. “He’s got the physical talent, he’s got the mental smarts.
“He’s got the maturity, the poise. He’s the full package, and you see him out there. He looks like he’s been boxing forever.”
Diodati likened Bahdi, a graduate of A.N. Myer Secondary School in Niagara Falls, to hockey hall of famer Wayne Gretzky.
“You know Gretzky was always so humble all the time, whether he was hoisting a Stanley Cup over his head or whatever he was doing, and Lucas is the same way,” Diodati said. “He’s down-toearth. You never know what kind of talent that kid has.
“He’s a local, home-grown talent who has his act together. He looks like he has the opportunity to go all the way to the top, and he’s such a good person.”
Strange represented Canada at three Olympics — Barcelona, 1992; Atlanta, 1996; Sydney, 2000 — and won Commonwealth Games gold medals in 1994 and 1998 in his amateur boxing career. He never trained like his fellow Niagara Falls native, though.
“It was pretty cool. It reminded me of Rocky IV, when Rocky went to Russia and was hitting the bag in the old barn and doing the old-school chopping wood,” he said. “He’s concentrating on what he has to do next afterwards.”
Strange, who like Diodati maintained physical distancing during the visit, praised the young fighter for making the most of a bad situation.
“He can’t be in a normal gym situation right now, he’s kind of brought back old school, chopping wood, punching the heavy bag and staying isolated,” Strange said. “It’s nice to see him continue training.
“Whatever comes, he’s going to be ready to go no matter what.”
Strange said while people are anxious for sports to return — to the point of watching reruns of championship games — the municipality needs to follow the lead of the federal and provincial governments when it comes to easing restrictions.
“I don’t see anything clearing up for the next few months. Until there actually is a vaccine, there are going to be new rules.”
He said boxing could be among the last sports to return.
“Boxing is one of those sports where you’re in constant contact with your coaches and your opponent all the time.”
Strange added blood and sweat is easily transmitted inside the ring: “There are going to be safety precautions. We don’t know when it’s going to come back.”
Last month Pat Kelly, one of Strange’s coaches when he was growing up in Niagara Falls, died of COVID-19. He was 85.
“I know we want to get back to sporting events and all that stuff, but when it hits home and you lose a loved one, like a great mentor like my boxing coach, you realize what’s important in life,” Strange said.
“It’s nice to look at sports, but right now it’s all about your family and those most important to you.”
Asked how Strange might fare against Bahdi, both he and Diodati pointed out the “totally different approaches” between amateurs, who fight for points, and pros who go for the knockout.
“If it was on points, Mike might do OK, but I would say if you’re fighting for the knockout, the pro is going to have a totally different way of fighting. How’s that for avoiding the answer?” Diodati said with a laugh.
Strange, who turns 50 in August, said Bahdi packs a “powerful punch.”
“I wouldn’t want to box him, believe me. He would be really tough to beat,” he said. “He’s in great shape, and he’s a strong-willed guy.
“The last thing you want to do is get hit by the Prince. You hope you have your hands up or you’re going to be in trouble.”
Lo Greco commemorated the visit by taking a picture of the three striking a boxing pose by extending a fist.
Diodati quipped the photo delivers a third message, in addition to promoting the sport and showing the three were maintaining physical distancing.
“It looks like you were playing rock, paper, scissors, and you all ended up with rock,” he said with a chuckle.