Duff heads into the Hall
Boxing athlete and coach pays tribute to coach and mentor, KaiYip
When Rick Duff first received notice that he was going to be inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame, it was a bittersweet moment. The phone call came on the same day that his coach and mentor, Kai Yip, was admitted to the hospital.
“I got a phone call in the a.m. that I was going to be receiving the Sports Hall of Fame and I was so pleased, and then just before lunch I got a phone call from Steven Yip that dad was sick and in the hospital, and not doing good. I rushed over to the hospital to see Kai. It was terminal,” said Duff.
Kai Yip passed away on Feb. 15, four days after that visit.
But Friday night after officially being inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in Red Deer, in front of 600 people, Duff sees that honour as a parting gift for his friend and teacher.
“I spent three or four days with Kai and I told him as soon as I could that he had to get out of bed and come with me to the Sports Hall of Fame,” said the seven-time provincial champion. “It was a proud moment. To him, hearing the news that his boy made it. It was a good send off for him. I really think that. He was unconditionally behind all of his fighters.”
For Duff, who had a storied career as an amateur boxer with a resume that included a 251-13 record, five national championships and a trip to the 1984 Olympic Games, the induction into the Hall of Fame was a fitting way to end his competitive career.
“I am very, very proud of this moment. It really finishes off my career as a competitor,” said Duff.
Although he had many accomplishments, the Lethbridge boxer feels the highlight of his career was representing Canada.
“My proudest moment was putting on the Canadian Boxing tank top and representing Canada; bringing honour to my country, my province and my hometown.”
The Lethbridge boxer was part of something special - the greatest Canadian National Boxing Team to ever exist.
“I felt so proud. I was the young one of the babies of the team. I had just turned senior. It brought my game up completely. Being associated with Willie de Wit, Shawn O’Sullivan, Lennox Lewis and Dale Walters. That is what really brought the best out of me.”
His first international fight was in Edmonton with that national team against the American National “B” team. It was the first time Canada ever beat an American National team. Duff was matched against Art Jimmerson, who later became a top-10 professional boxer, and who also fought in the UFC. It was a signature Rick Duff fight, with the two boxers going toe-to-toe for three rounds.
“He was an awesome, awesome fighter. I was pretty green. I went in with the mentality that I was going to take this away from this awesome American fighter; which I evidently did. I hit him with everything I had.”
Duff, a southpaw had an extremely unique style that would wear down his opponents and keep them off balance.
“Rick kept changing his punches, where they were coming from, none of the other boxers could figure him out,” said former sparring partner and former Lethbridge Boxing Club coach Rob Carswell. “They took a lot of punishment trying to stand toe-to-toe with Rick, which was just not possible. They could not match his stamina. Rick would run the coulees by himself because no coaches could stay with him. Nobody could stay with him. His training was so superior.”
The southpaw went on to represent Canada as a middleweight at the 1984 Olympics. He won his first fight and then was matched against Shin Joon-Sup of South Korea.
“My toughest fight ever was against the South Korean at the Olympics. We fought toeto-toe and, unfortunately, I hurt my hand early in the fight and I couldn’t throw a left hand anymore, but I wasn’t going to give up.”
Joon-Sup won by splitdecision and went on to win the gold medal in the middleweight division.
Besides being a boxer, Duff was also a high-calibre goalie, receiving a tryout with the Medicine Hat Tigers at age 15. After the Olympics Duff returned to play hockey with the Lethbridge Junior “B” Native Sons. However, there were a few instances where the two sports crossed paths.
“In the playoffs against the Brooks Spurs, there was a scuffle happening with the other goalie at the other end of the ice. As I left my crease, all the (Spurs) white jerseys skated away from me, as I skated down there to tangle with someone, and then some good soul opened up the gate on the bench to let the goalie get off the ice before I could get him. So I got kicked out of the game without even fighting,” said the Lethbridge boxer, with a huge grin.
After having received so much support as an athlete Duff decided to give back to his Lethbridge community, by picking up where his mentor Kai Yip left off, by taking over the reins of the Lethbridge Boxing Club. Duff has found that coaching is an extremely rewarding experience.
“Now I am continuing our boxing heritage in Lethbridge. I am working hard to continue boxing and build boxing in Lethbridge,” said the 2014 Boxing Alberta Coach of the Year. I have been around the world . . . but it was such a proud moment to come back to home, my hometown and continue with the boxing.”
Another southern Alberta sports figure was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame Friday night as Oyen’s Doug Jones was honoured in the Baseball Builder category.
Jones established three separate baseball academies — the Prairie Baseball Academy, Vauxhall Academy of Baseball and the Badlands Baseball Academy — and was instrumental in the creation of the Western Baseball League in 2001, serving as its first president.
He was also President of Baseball Alberta from 1991 to 1996 and was a leader and advocate of youth development.