By Brian Zelley
(photo: taken at the 1984 Training
site for the Canadian Olympic
boxing team.)
The story of the 2012 Olympic
boxing in London will be the
story of boxers, coaches and
officials.
This story will focus on the
story of some boxers from
various locations in two parts.
The first part will be about their journey to the Olympic Games
and the second part will cover their performance at the Games
from the beginning to beyond the final bell.
THE JOURNEY TO THE GAMES
THE BOXERS:
LUKE CAMPBELL: England
Luke Campbell has
been an interesting
journey from the
time he first stepped
into the boxing gym
in Hull, England to
the process of winning
his way into
the 2012 Olympic Games in his own National
along with other members of Team Great Britain:
Andrew Selby, Anthony Ogogo, Fred Evans,
Josh Taylor, Natasha Jonas, Nicola Adams
and Savannah Marshall.
THE CANADIANS: CUSTIO CLAYTON and SIMON KEAN
Simon and Custio are two of our Boxing Canada A-Team members
who have experience and the talent to have achieved this moment to participate in London.
Custio is from Nova Scotia and Simon from Quebec and
have been team members for the current and past years.
For Team Canada in the past several years there has
been a high team spirit.
Custio with team mates
Brody Blair and Kenny Lally
\
JOSE RAMIREZ - United States lightweight
Jose qualified at the Americas
tournament in Brazil which
included a victory over
Canada's Alex Rynn.
His Boxing USA Team mates:
Ram'shee Warren, Joseph Diaz Jr.,
Jamel Herring, Errol Spence,
Terrell Gausha, Marcus Browne,
Michael Hunter Jr., Dominic Breazeale.
and Claressa Shields.
**JOSH TAYLOR - Team Great Britain, Scotland ==
Looking back to 2010, Josh Taylor was a silver medalist in the
lightweight division of the Commonwealth Games
One of his wins in the pre-finals was a
victory over a welsh boxer before meeting England's
Thomas Stalker in the finals in Delhi.
But, to understand Taylor, we must travel back to where
it all began. He began boxing in about 2006 at the
Lochend boxing club mainly under the direction of
coach Terry McCormack. By 2008, he was competing in
the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games and earned a
bronze medal.
A HISTORICAL MOMENT - WOMENS' BOXING
*Very very pleased that England's SAVANNAH MARSHALL
has accepted the invitation to be one of the boxers profiled.
if possible, I would like another woman boxer or another two.
**Savannah Marshall, Team Great Britain, Hartlepool
***The recent headlines in the Guardian blazed across the screen
with the words:
"Savannah Marshall wins
Britain's first ever women's boxing world title"
But her position in the Games was secured with an earlier victory.
Despite all the press, Savannah is not letting the press coverage
and the achievements to-date make her drop her guard
in the quest for Olympic glory.
For the real story we must take it back to where it all began.
In was about 2003 when a young teenage girl walked
into the gym to be faced by coach Tim Coulter who admits
that he was not high on the idea of women's boxing,
but it did not take long for Tim to be sold on the idea.
But, back in 2003, who would have guessed that there
would be women's boxing in the Olympic Games, and
who would have guessed one of the pioneers for this
historical moment would be that once teenage novice
with determination and drive, and a cool attitude as not
to be swept-up and drowned by the a flood of publicity
and praise over the years.***
If "Cool, Calm and Control", Savannah Marshall
has the right tools to go all the way. But, I'm sure
that nobody in Team Great Britain or the many
supporters in Hartlepool will be "counting the chickens
before they are hatched". So, it will be steady training
to achieve the optimum level of physical, mental and
emotional balance to be the best that she can be for
a moment in time and that moment is London 2012.
MARY SPENCER - Canada
*For Canadian multi-term Champion Mary Spencer, the waiting
ends, the Olypmic watch begins after the Wild card played out.
THE TREASURE CHEST OF GOLDEN MEMORIES:
*This section of the story before the games will include
quotes and comments from the boxers or any others that
may have a positive memory of any of the boxers listed. and
good wishes for their journey to-date and their performances
in the Games:
**Words of praise from Canada's Dave Hutchinson**
Dave adds a touch of the past to the here and now and the journey
== brian zelley's buzz ==
*over the years it has been great to follow the performance of our Canadian boxers and the achievemnts of some of our boxers of other Nations such as Luke Campbell and Josh Taylor. For Jose Ramirez, he has been very active over the years, but his recent performance in Brazil was excellent including his bout with Canada's Alex Torres Rynn who is a member of Boxing Canada's A Team. For the Canadian boxers and the many others from around the globe thank you for your dedication, determination and drive. And, may you all complete this journey with pride regardless of the final standing.
and, then there is Savannah Marshall, who has a very interesting story from back where it all began.
*Claressa Shields, Team USA**
in the Detroit Free Press: (in a telephone call
to her coach Jason Crutchfield:
"Coach I made the Olympics! I made the Olympics!"
*Mary Kom, India: "I will be the only Indian woman boxer
at Olympics. I will be part of history and that really means
a lot to me...:" Mary will be in the same division as
Team Great Britain's Nicola Adams. (Mid Day sports).
*Katie Taylor, Ireland: "I'm delighted to go to the Olympics
and hopefully I'll come home with a gold medal for my country.
*Custio Clayton (as reported by Joanne Oostveen in the
article titled: "Dartmouth boxer heading to Olympics"
in the Halifax News Net):
"I played other sports, but could not get boxing out of my mind.
By the time I had my first fight, I knew I was hooked."
*McGrory's gym on Mary Spencer:
"Mary's an Ambassador of Boxing for the Youth all over Canada."
Published on the Boxing_Canada site
Luke Campbell as quoted: "The Telegraph",
2012 Olympic coverage:
*"I've put everyday life on hold for boxing". Luke Campbell
Kenny Lally, Canadian champion and A-Team member:
"Good luck to my boy Simon "Killer" Kean who fights
France today in his first bout at the Olympics."
PADDY BARNES of IRELAND
*Paddy Barnes has been an outstanding boxer for Ireland
in recent years. He has also been one of the top ten boxers
in his division for many years. in recent ratings he was dropped
thus putting at a disadvantage in the draws at the Olympics.
It is hoped that this disadvantage will not ruin his changes in London.
THE WAITING GAME: IT'S OVER
For Canadian boxer MARY SPENCER it has been a waiting game.
The door to the Olympics is closing fast with the only key left is the
wild card possibility where a few boxers that had been eliminated will
get the gift of a lifetime and be selected by the Olympic committee.
THE TRAINING GAME and THE SUPPORT:
*Prior to the trip to London, Canadian boxers Custio Clayton and
Simon Kean will be heading to Ireland for the last training camp.
Sports reporter Monte Mosher of "The Chronicle Herald" is staying
in-tune with the ongoing story.
*USA boxer Jose Ramirez recently had an Olympic send-off event:
PRE-OLYMPIC COVERAGE: THE RING magazine, August 2012
*From out select list of boxers, JOSE RAMIREZ in one of the USA
boxers on the cover of the magazine and also featured in the
Olympic preview of Team USA from super heavyweight Dominic Breazeale
to flyweight Rau'shee Warren.
Team Great Britian is also profiled including:
Josh Taylor (Scotland) and Luke Campbell (England, the profiles also
includes the two Welsh boxers Fred Evans and Andrew Selby.
OLYMPIC ACTION: The Glory and the Pain
== THE 2012 LONDON OLYMPICS ==
**from the opening bell to the end of the action, this is their Olympic story**
SCHEDULE:
First day of action: July 28th. Men's Bantamweights and Middleweights
*The bantamweight profiled in this story is England's LUKE CAMPBELL.
One of the other bantamweights is JOSEPH DIAZ jr. of Team USA.
Second day of action July 29th. Men's Lightweight and Welterweight
*The two lightweights being followed in this story are:
Jose Ramirez of California, USA and Scotland's Josh Taylor.
Alternative Training Facilities for the Canadians:
*An interesting story by Steve Buffrey relates to the
alternative training facilities in London. It seems,
Clayton, Kean and Spencer have been training at
Rooney's Gym in London rather that the Olympic training site.
GOLD MEDAL PREDICTIONS:
*of all the boxers listed, the one expected to win a gold medal is
England's SAVANNAH MARSHALL. A year ago, Canada's
MARY SPENCER was a heavy choice for a medal, but recent
activity has reduced the odds for her medal success, but it she
gets back her 2011 form then there is the potential for gold.
The best choice for a medal of the men boxers would have
to be LUKE CAMPBELL of England, but it may not be gold
or silver. For the rest, much will depend on the draws for each
boxer in their preliminary bouts.
The Olympic Road for SIMON KEANE
So Simon will move forward with hopes of moving into medal contention.
The Olympic Road for CUSTIO CLAYTON:
be a tough bout against Oscar Molina of Mexico.
Good news for Canada with
a victory by Clayton in the
first boxing victory since the
2004 Olympic Games. Now,
Canadian boxing can move
forward,
*In the quarter finals, Clayton faced Freddie Evans
of Team Great Britain.Evans won round one by a big margin,
but in round two, Clayton roared back to win the round and
move close to the combined score of Evans. So,
it would all come down to the third round and controversy
regarding whether the referee should of deducted a point
for a number of cautions. This proved to be the key issue
with Canadian fans when the bout ended in
a tie and on the count back, Evans was awarded the bout
and moves into the medal round. But, for Canadians, Custio
would be praised for his fine effort and achievements and
will long be remembered and is credited for bringing
pride back to Canadian Amateur Boxing's Olympic Games history.
The Olympic Road for PADDY BARNES
*Paddy with two victories has earned a place into the medal
round and will compete in the semi-finals.
The Olympic Road for LUKE CAMPBELL
In the prelim round on Saturday for bantamweight action, Luke
received a bye and is expected to see action on August 1st.
*(Luke won his first bout and then
followed that up with another victory, and looks like a medal winner.
The Olympic boxing journey of Josh Taylor
bout, but on August 2nd.
the long journey would
come to and end.
The Olympic Boxing Road for JOSE RAMIREZ
King's Boxing Club,
Avenal, California,
The club's web site is:
http://www.avenalboxing.com/
In a closely scored bout, RAMIREZ scores the win and moves
one step closer to the medal round.
*The race for a medal for Jose Ramirez came to an end
on August 2nd. when he dropped a decsion.
THE OLYMPIC BOXING JOURNEY of SAVANNAH MARSHALL
*Recently, Savannah was a recipient of a special award in Sheffield.
THE OLYMPIC BOXING JOURNEY of MARY SPENCER
to be an Olympic boxer.
*Savannah and Mary's active 2012 Olympic journey has come to
an end with losses in their first bouts. Both, at one time, were
expected to medal based on past performances, but the past is no
guarantee of any future results.
LUKE CAMPBELL, THE LAST MAN STANDING:
to go for gold in the bantamweight division on Friday August 11th
***** Luke Campbell (England) vs John Joe Nevin (Ireland)*****
THE FINAL STORY AFTER THE FINAL BELL:
2013: What are they doing now?
*Some of the boxers continue to receive special
awards and attend special events.
* Luke Campbell, gold medal recipient:
https://www.facebook.com/LukeCampbellOfficial
Jose Ramirez: Team USA
http://thefuturechamp.com/new/
Jose is now a pro boxer and is planning
to fight for a world title in the future.
The new web site will follow the journey
as time flashes past in and beyond California.
http://www.facebook.com/Joseramirezboxing
* the link above is the direct link with the fans
with regular updates and comments from others.
Josh Taylor, Team Great Britain
http://www.joshtaylorboxing.com/
Josh is still boxing in 2013 and was a member of the
"British Lionhearts" in World Series boxing.
http://britishlionhearts.com/
*** the above link takes us to the details of the British Lionhearts ****
The boxers train at the training facility in Sheffield. Some of the other
boxers are: Andrew Selby, Charlie Edwards, John Joe Nevin and Sam Maxwell.
Paddy Barnes, Team Ireland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy_Barnes
* the above link highlights Paddy's boxing journey
up to his final bout in the 2012 London Olympics.
Beyond London, Paddy was celebrated back in Ireland
along with other team mates.
*In 2013, Paddy is still boxing and is expected to see action
in May.
Savannah Marshall, Team Great Britain
* Savannah along with GB team members
Nicola Adams and Lisa whiteside secured gold
at the 2013 Women's EU Championship.
BEYOND LONDON 2012
Good news concerning LUKE CAMPBELL
who recently made his pro debut and
won in 90 seconds.
* Luke Campbell, gold medal recipient:
https://www.facebook.com/LukeCampbellOfficial
Jose Ramirez: Team USA
http://thefuturechamp.com/new/
Jose is now a pro boxer and is planning
to fight for a world title in the future.
The new web site will follow the journey
as time flashes past in and beyond California.
http://www.facebook.com/Joseramirezboxing
* the link above is the direct link with the fans
with regular updates and comments from others.
Josh Taylor, Team Great Britain
http://www.joshtaylorboxing.com/
Josh is still boxing in 2013 and was a member of the
"British Lionhearts" in World Series boxing.
*** the above link takes us to the details of the British Lionhearts ****
The boxers train at the training facility in Sheffield. Some of the other
boxers are: Andrew Selby, Charlie Edwards, John Joe Nevin and Sam Maxwell.
Paddy Barnes, Team Ireland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paddy_Barnes
* the above link highlights Paddy's boxing journey
up to his final bout in the 2012 London Olympics.
Beyond London, Paddy was celebrated back in Ireland
along with other team mates.
*In 2013, Paddy is still boxing and is expected to see action
in May.
Savannah Marshall, Team Great Britain
* Savannah along with GB team members
Nicola Adams and Lisa whiteside secured gold
at the 2013 Women's EU Championship.
BEYOND LONDON 2012
Good news concerning LUKE CAMPBELL
who recently made his pro debut and
won in 90 seconds.
Watch Charlie Edwards vs Angel Moreno live online from anywhere in the world owing to FastestVPN; without facing any geo-restrictions.
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