Calgary scene is world class, writes columnist
City on the rebound when it comes to the world boxing scene,
Hello everyone, I’m Michael Short, a.k.a. “Mr. Boxing of Calgary.”
I’ve been involved in the sport of boxing since 1980, first as an amateur athlete then as a professional, and have done almost every job there is in boxing, except being the ring-card girl. The highlights of my career were being coached by the legendary Archie Moore and living, training, sparring and learning from another boxing legend, Aaron (The Hawk) Pryor.
I have had the opportunity to experience and learn things in 38 years that many don’t get to in a lifetime. This experience has given me knowledge I want to share with fellow Calgarians to provide insight into the local scene, the athletes and their stories and what’s happening in the world of professional boxing.
Calgary has a rich history of professional boxing with the earliest recording of a sanctioned boxing match being in 1908 at places like the Pantages Theatre and Sherman’s Auditorium, both of which no longer exist.
Early 1900s matches, also at Lyric Theatre, Manchester Arena, Tommy Burns Arena, Mission Hill and Memorial Arena, have all been forgotten.
Moving into what doesn’t seem like ancient times, boxing took its spot at the Stampede grounds in the ’50s in the Corral and in Victoria Park Pavilion. In fact, the Pavilion hosted more than 140 pro boxing shows long before Calgary patriarch Stu Hart opened shop with the worldfamous Stampede Wrestling.
After a long absence of pro shows, along came two Los Angeles Olympians who appeared in Calgary in the mid-’80s. First came 1984 silver medallist Shawn O’Sullivan, who filled Max Bell Arena, then came one of Calgary’s favourites, Willie deWit — or, as he’s known now, justice of the Court of Queen’s Bench — who sold out the Corral. From these two events, local coach-turned-promoter Ken Billinghurst ran a series of events throughout the city featuring talent from across the country and the United States. Fast-forward through the ’90s, when Olympian Dale Brown was featured at Max Bell and dozens of shows from hit-and-miss promotions were staged, and here we are now in 2018 with Dekada Fight Night emerging as the biggest boxing promotion in Western Canada.
With Calgary as its base, Dekada Fight Night is now rivalling the east as a boxing powerhouse. Leading the troop is the WBO North American middleweight champion and world top-10 Albert Onolunose.
Onolunose is now rubbing shoulders with the likes of Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux as Dekada is working to make big fights happen for the local Nigerian fighter.
The future of boxing in Canada, and developing locally to take on the world, is 3-0G wyn Lewisas well as Devin Reti, who stands at 10-0, Kandi Wyatt (5-0), Stephanie Essensa (2-1-1) and Filipino transplant Alvin Tam (14-6).
The west has traditionally taken a back seat to Quebec and Ontario for decades when it comes to the sport, but not anymore. Recently, two major professional titles have been won by Calgary boxers. The first, back in October, was the IBF North American belt won by local unsigned and independent fighter Steve Claggett. Even more notable in March was Onolunose defeating world No. 9 Francis Lafreniere, who hadn’t lost in five years, for the NABO middleweight title.
The biggest news was both fighters walked into their opponents’ hometown of Montreal and fought through more than just in-ring adversity to take the titles from the east.
With fighters such as Onolunose, Claggett, Lewis, Reti, Tam, Wyatt and Essensa, the west is already in great shape to not only rival the east, but to take on the world. Calgary has produced world-class boxers in the past such as deWit, Brown, George Dunn and Doug Harper.
Now we have the biggest promotion in the west and a resurgence in quality athletes. It’s time for the great sports city of Calgary to realize there’s worldclass boxing right here that rivals a trip to Las Vegas.
ESPN SET TO BECOME THE TV HEAVYWEIGHT
Mike Tyson once said, “The temptation for greatness is the strongest drug in the world.” For some, professional boxing is not only a path to stardom, but also a way of life, a job, a means to eat or a way to identify one’s self. The announcement recently by perhaps the new leader in showcasing boxing, ESPN, to up the ante with the iconic Top Rank Promotions is perhaps a sign of things to come.
The original offer was a fiveyear deal with 30 shows per year. That’s been increased to seven years and 54 events per year.
Earlier this year, U.K. promoter Eddie Hearn inked a $2-billion deal with DAZN for a separate mega-signing to increase the exposure of professional boxing. To understand the magnitude of these deals, Showtime will now come in third place for the amount of money committed and HBO, the globally recognized leader, is now in fourth spot.