2020 Ontario Boxing Hall of Fame Inductees

Article by: Dameon Okposio Photos provided by inductees/BTB File photos

On Saturday, May 30, 2020, Woodstock, Ontario will play host to the 2020 Ontario Boxing Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony. It is a full day of boxing entertainment for the avid boxing fan or the curious sports fan. This year will represent the 20 year anniversary of the OBHF (Ontario Boxing Hall of Fame) and 18 years with Dameon Okposio at the helm as President. The Induction Ceremony returns to Woodstock, Ontario for a third year and will occupy the Oxford Auditorium located at 875 Nellis Street, for a second year in a row. We are thankful to the Mayor of Woodstock, Trevor Birtch, for his hospitality and welcoming attitude. Two members of the OBHF Selection Committee, Dave Hutchinson and Durell Wambolt stepped down in 2019 and the remaining two members brought you the list of our 8 inductees for this year. We are pleased and proud to announce our inductees for 2020! started his professional career in 1993, retiring 14 years later with 42 professional bouts under his belt. With a record of 28-14 (10 KO’s), Bryon was one of the most exciting fighters in his day, winning both the Canadian welterweight title and middleweight title. Dewith Frazer has touched every aspect of the sport of boxing and remains a pillar in the sport. Learning the sweet science in his teens, as a young boxer, Frazer amassed around 170 amateur bouts and qualified for the Olympic trials for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles were he made it to the quarter finals. DEWITH FRAZER

BRYON MACKIE

Frazer turned professional in Toronto in 1986 as a welterweight and had 12 professional bouts, including facing the long-standing South African Welterweight Champion, Harold Volbrecht 47-5-2.

A career highlight was winning the Canadian middleweight title on February 1, 2002, when he defeated Alex Hilton 37-7 by unanimous decision at the Hershey Centre in Mississauga. Bryon Mackie Dewith Frazer retired from professional boxing and attained numerous coaching accolades, including the following: 1996- Jamaican National Olympic coach, Atlanta, USA 1998- Canadian National World championships

coach, Budapest, Hungary 2000- Canadian National Olympic coach, Sydney, Australia 2010- Canadian National, Commonwealth games team coach, Delhi, India 2014- Commonwealth National Coach Level 4 Olympic Level Coach

MARK LEDUC

DONOVAN RUDDOCK

“Razor” Ruddock had tremendous power and in the amateurs he earned a win over Lennox Lewis in March 1980 in Toronto at the Ontario Junior Boxing Championships at 165 lbs.

As a professional, Ruddock faced the top fighters of his era, facing off against Mike Tyson twice, Egerton Marcus, Tommy Morrison and Lennox Lewis. Mark Leduc was born May 4, 1962 in Toronto, Ontario and grew up in the east end of the city. He went to Leslie Street Public School and took up the sport of boxing. He amassed an impressive amateur boxing record, going 158-26 on route to winning a silver medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in the light welterweight division.

Leduc went professional in 1992 after the Olympics and defeated Andy Wong in his fourth professional fight for the Canadian Professional Boxing Council National Super Lightweight Title. He retired from professional boxing after his first loss with a record of 4-1 (2 KO’s).

Ruddock ended his career with an impressive 40-6-1 (30 KO’s) record and earned the following titles: Canadian Heavyweight Champion WBA Inter-Continental Heavyweight Champion IBC World Heavyweight Champion

PETER SJOUWERMAN

LISA BROWN

Lisa “Bad News” Brown 20-6-3 (6 KO’s) is a tremendous boxer that fought the who’s who in women’s boxing. She started boxing in her late 20’s and had 32 amateur boxing matches before turning professional.

She’s had an impressive career earning the following titles. IWBF Bantamweight Champion WIBC Junior Featherweight Champion WIBA Junior Featherweight Champion IFBA Junior Featherweight Champion WIBA Super Banatamweight Champion WBA Super Banatamweight Champion NABC Super Bantamweight Champion Peter Sjouwerman is a former champion amateur boxer who was a Coppersmith by Trade. He has long been the president of the Bramalea Boxing Club and coached many fighters. A lot of gym owners, Olympians and professional boxers can trace their boxing roots back to the Bramalea Boxing Club. One long-standing legacy to Sjouwerman’s credit is the Brampton Cup tournament which is famous in boxing circles all over the world as one of the biggest amateur tournaments. Sjouwerman has run the tournament from 1982 and kept it going strong for 38 years.

RALPH RACINE

Ralph started boxing amateur at a gym in Fonthill at the age of 14 and had approximately 35 amateur bouts before turning professional on May 3, 1975 at the age of 18. Ralph would travel to Buffalo New York and worked with coach Johnny Sudac, who had sought his attention since the amateurs.

Training at Singers Gym in downtown Buffalo, helped develop Ralph’s technique and power. During his professional career, Ralph went head to head with top ranked fighters and was ranked as high as number 15 in the world as a lightweight.

Ralph Racine retired from boxing with an impressive professional record of 28-9-1 (16 KO’s).

SILVIA PECOTA

Silvia Pecota is an award-winning artist and photographer. Her work has appeared in numerous publications and she has authored several books including a children’s book.

Silvia has profiled several sports and while doing so raised the public profile of her subjects. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because you’ve read her name numerous times in the Toronto Sun where she profiled numerous boxers as Sunshine Boys. It helped keep boxing in the minds of the millions of Canadian readers and raised the notoriety of the boxers. BTB

BOOTS ON THE GROUND Helping First Responders

Dave McLennan is a former Police Officer who retired after 30 years of service with the Peel Regional Police Service. Dave is the founder and president of “Boots On The Ground”, a Peer Support Service For First Responders.

Boots on The Ground is an organization completely run and staffed by volunteer first responders and the service is incorporated as a nonprofit organization.

Boots on the Ground offers 24/7 over the phone peer support. Following a call to their help line, if further follow up is required, they are in a unique position to dispatch two volunteers in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area). They believe that this peer support model makes them stand out from other resources currently available. They also offer a variety of referral services when they speak to people in need of assistance.

Their services are offered to Police, Fire, EMS (Emergency Medical Services) and Corrections employees throughout Ontario. This includes both sworn and civilian members of each service which also includes serving and retired members.

They are an alternative to current wellness programs being offered through employers. They believe that these programs are under-utilized because of fears associated with social stigma and confidentiality issues. By keeping this completely separate from employee wellness programs their hope is that more people will utilize their available services. They offer a completely anonymous service when users call in, so they do not have to worry about details of the conversation getting back to their workplace.

They currently have a group of 150 volunteers, including serving and retired first responders, working on the program and answering the phone lines 24/7. All of their volunteers receive peer support and suicide prevention training.

Boots on the ground is proud to partner with the Ontario Boxing Hall of Fame and is looking forward to the 2020 Ontario Boxing Hall of Fame Inductions on Saturday, May 30, 2020, in Woodstock, Ontario. First Responders will be taking part in the live amateur boxing show in the evening and Boots on the Ground would like to thank everyone who purchased a ticket to the event because part of the proceeds will go to Boots on the Ground.

First responders can call their 24/7 peer support help line at 1-833-677-2668. For more information on Boots on the Ground, visit their website at: www. bootsontheground.ca.