City boxers being inducted into Ontario hall of fame
Trupish and Garside had impressive amateur and professional careers
Boxing Ontario is set to honour two-time Olympian Adam Trupish and former WBC and WIBA champion Jeannine Garside.
The two are part of a 15-member class that will be inducted in the Ontario Boxing Hall of Fame on Saturday in Woodstock.
“I’m really looking forward to it,” the 40-year-old Trupish said. “It means a lot being recognized for my achievements and celebrated for my past accomplishments.”
Trupish attended St. Anne high school with two-time Olympian Andrew Singh Kooner and that’s how he got involved in the sport at the Windsor Amateur Boxing Club.
“I started the same week Charlie Stewart started with the club,” Trupish said. “Andrew talked me into coming to the gym and, 10 years later (in 2004), we were roommates and teammates at the Olympics.”
Over his career, Trupish won nine national boxing titles and was captain of Canada’s national team for four years while fighting in three different weight classes. He represented Canada at the 2004 Olympic Games in Greece and was the country’s only boxer at the 2008 Olympic Games in China.
“I got to meet a lot of people throughout the world,” Trupish said. “It was a pretty exciting lifestyle. I was very fortunate to meet so many people and travel the world.”
After turning pro, Trupish rose to No. 5 in the world in the welterweight division. Upon retiring, Trupish started his own gym in Edmonton and coached three athletes to national titles before returning to Windsor.
“I was fortunate to see the entire globe and represent Canada, and I loved representing Windsor and my family on the world stage,” Trupish said.
The Boxing Ontario honour is just another in the long list for Garside. She has a place in the Vancouver Island Wall of Fame and four years ago was inducted into the International Women’s Boxing Hall of Fame in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“Everytime (I’m honoured), it does take on a different meaning,” the 41-year-old Garside said. “Now, being acknowledged by Ontario where I reside and spent my entire career training and fighting, it means a lot.”
She was a teenager when she left British Columbia to join Josh Canty and Margaret Sidoroff at the Border City Boxing Club.
“I was told if you want to be the best, you have to train with the best,” Garside said. “Margaret was a tremendous boxer (a WBA and IFBA world champion), so I was with the best.
“That’s what brought me to Ontario and they put me up in their house and took care of me.”
A four-time national champion, Garside won a bronze medal for Canada at the first women’s world boxing championship in 2001.
Garside had hoped for a shot at the Olympics, but women’s boxing was not added until 2012. She turned pro in 2004 and claimed the WIBA world super bantamweight title in just her fourth fight. It was her first of six international titles as she posted a 10-3-1 pro record with four knockouts.
“It’s been a wonderful journey,” said Garside, who now coaches at the Border City Boxing Club. “There’s been a lot of magic involved.
“I’m happy for everyone included and glad they acknowledge athletes this way and hope they continue in the future. It’s all a great opportunity to relive some of the great moments in a career.”
It’s been a wonderful journey. There’s been a lot of magic involved.