Introduction
As we look back to the nineties and the year 2000, the steps
leadingto the selection of Donnie Orr onto the
2000 Canadian Olympic boxing team was a story of dedication,
determinaton and courage. Beyond Olympic Games, Donnie
won a 2001 Canadian amateur boxing champion and then began
a professional boxing journey from Boston to Hollywood and Arizona.
The Road To The Olympic Games
An Important Starting Point for Boxing in Vitoria in the Nineties:
*An important event that took place in Victoria, BC in the Nineties
was the 1994 Commonwealth Games. After 1986, there was not
much activity in boxing in the Greater Victoria area. But, starting
in 1989, a boxing committee was formed on hehalf of the
Victoria Commonwealth Games Society. The initial members wer
Hassan Sunderani, Brian Zelley, Mike Sartori and Glynn Jones.
One of the objectives of the committee was to have a revival in
amateur boxing in the Greater Victoria area and obtain a group
of volunteers to help organize boxing and be part of the
Commonwealth Games boxing which also included
a test tournament in 1993. Three of the various
volunteers would be Don Orr, Mike Caird, and Ian Weir.
Prior to the '94 Games they would work to get an active
club operating, and one of the boxers would be DONNIE ORR.
Fighting for the trip:
It all began in the year 2000 in the Canadian boxing box-offs.
To make the team, Orr would need to earn two victories over
the champion CODY KELLY. Donnie met the challenge and
scored two wins to be on the Canadian A-team, but that was
only the first step. The next step would be the Olympic box-offs
in Tampa.
Along the way, Orr suffered a broken thumb, but that did not
eliminate him from box-off competition. In the semi-finals, his
victory over the boxer from the Dominic Repubublic earned him
a spot on the 2000 Olympic boxing team.
THE GOLDEN MEMORIES OF DONNIE and OTHERS:
Itroduction:
Over the years, Donnie has paid an important part in amateur
boxing in Victoria from the Nineties, but he has also been part
of the history of BC, Canadian and Olympic boxing:
Donnie will be inducted at the official Greater Victoria Sports Hall Of Fame October 23, 2021.
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