Thursday, November 24, 2011

THE MIKE STRANGE BOXING STORY


THE BOXING JOURNEY OF MIKE STRANGE:  By Brian Zelley


Introduction of the Michael  (Mike) Strange story:
When telling the rich history of Canadian amateur boxing about
the Nineties, one of the key former boxers that was there from
beginning to end was former boxer  MIKE STRANGE. 



I first saw Mike when he was in the Goodwill Games in Seattle
in 1990 and have followed his journey over the years from 
1990 to 2000. 

However, this will be a story through the eyes of many that were
part of his journey from club shows to International tournaments.


Before 1990: "Finding The Road of Excellence>
There are many stories that could be told about his
pre-1990 experience in the ring long before his 
open senior Canadian boxing champion. One of those
moments was being a member of Team Ontario's 
Boxing 1987 "Canada Winter Games Team" 
Mike earned a silver medal, but just as important
was it gave him another learning experience.


                   a young Mike Strange from the late Eighties 


THE YARDSTICKS TO MEASURE EXCELLENCE
There are many yardsticks that we can use to measure 
excellence and quality, and some of the words that 
could be used to judge the quality and excellence of
Mike are  "Efficient and Effective Consistency"
as demonstrated by the extreme ends of the time
period between 1990 and 2000.


The year 1990 was the first year that Michael Strange earned
a title in one weight division, and in the year 2000 it would be
more of the same but in a different weight class.  From 1991
onward, Mike  would win despite the weight class and be
a part of many CANADIAN AMATEUR BOXING TEAMS
that would see action around the globe from Seattle, Washington
and Victoria, B.C to  the far reaches of the land down under in
 Australia to other locations in Canada and around the globe.


THE BEGINNING OF A JOURNEY 1990
Winning the Canadian featherweight title in 1990 was to 
be an important start for Strange, but it would also 
include being part of a team with some of the other 
champions.  In 1990 some would fight in one and
some would fight in the, Canada vs USA bouts,
Goodwill Games, the Commonwealth Games.


Some of the Canadian  boxers in competition 
March 1990 between Canada and the USA would be
Mike Strange vs Oscar de la Hoya in featherweight
competition and others such as Graham McIntosh,
Vernon Linklater and Domenic Filane Figliomeni.




At least three of the Canadian champions would
be in action in Seattle in August of 1990 to see
action in the Goodwill Games.  At least three of 
the quarter finalists would be Mike and team 
mates Chris Johnson and Mark Leduc.
Some of the other boxers that competed were
Oscar de la Hoya, Ivan Robinson, Shane Mosley,
Felix Savon, Jeremy Williams and Larry Donald.





1990 A Moscow moment:  
Mike Strange and Billy Irwin
(photo courtesy of Billy "The Kid" Irwin)


THE END OF THE JOURNEY 2000
Of course, the year 2000 would not be a 
complete end of Mike's boxing story, but
it was the last great fighting moment when
Mike as one of the key boxers would lead
his fellow boxers into action in the 
2000 Olympic Games in Australia.




THE LONG AND WINDING ROAD BETWEEN 1990 and 2000


1991 - The Champion Returns - Sacrifice and Power
It was 1991 and one of the hit songs was called
 "Sacrifice" and one was called "The Power",
 and through combination of sacrifice and power, 
Mike Strange, Domenic Filane Figliomeni, 
Bill Irwin, Mark Leduc, Greg and Chris Johnson,
Dale Brown and Vernon Linklater would return as 
Canadian senior open champions with Mike still
holding the featherweight title for another year.
The other champions in 1991 were Mark Irwin,
Steve Beaupre, Stephen Ouellet and Tom Glesby.  


One of the International tournaments in 1991
was the Pan American Games with some of the 
Canadians winning medals, but no gold.


1992 THE FIRST TASTE OF THE OLYMPICS:
The first step in the process is to win a title, or
win a couple of box-off bouts against a champ.
Returning champions for 1992  were:
Domenic, Michael, Bill, Mark, Greg, Steven, Chris,
Dale and Tom.  Some new faces would be:
Marty O'Donnell and Kirk Johnson.


The 1992 Canadian  Olympic Team:
Team Boxers: Domenic Figliomenti, Marty O'Donnell,
Michael Strange, William (Billy) Irwin, Mark Leduc, 
Raymond Downey,  Chris Johnson, Dale Brown,
 Kirk Johnson and Tom Glesby.


1993: The Returning Champions:
Mike, Domenic, and Dale would be returning
front and centre, but some new champions would
be those such as: 
Casey Patton, Fitz Vanderpool, Jamie Sparks,
Randall Thompson and Rowan Donaldson.


1993: The Commonwealth Games test matches:
Although the actual Commonwealth Games were 
one year away and the final team would not be 
decided until 1994, it was important to stage the
test match tournament in Victoria, BC in 
August 1993 called the Commonwealth 
Invitational at the Archie Browning Sports Centre
in Esquimalt.


In one of the first bouts by Mike, he scored a 
decision over Scotland's Bradley Welsh.  This was 
followed up Saturday August 28th bout with 
Australia's Joe Zabakly.  


1994:  The Road To The Commonwealth Games
The first step in the team process was the Nationals and Michael 
would be the lightweight champion.  There would be other 
returning champions and some new faces or former champions
of years earlier.  One of the new faces was Allan Bayne.


Like the test matches of 1993, the Commonwealth Games
would be held at the Sports Centre in Esquimalt, but the
boxers would be at the athletes village by the University
of Victoria.
     The other coach was Yvon Michell and other boxer Allan Bayne,


From a cast of hundreds of volunteers, coaches, officials and boxers, the
above list are some of the names.  There were other volunteers etc. but 
it is not possible to list or remember every name.


The Canadian team would win four gold by
Casey, Michael, Rowan and Dale.  Silver by
Steve Gallinger and bronze by Wald Fleming
and Domenic Filane Figliomeni.
(photo courtesy of  Doug Bolianatz: 
 includes Yvon Michell, Ron Donaldson, Doug Bolianatz
Michael Strange, Dale Brown, Domenic Filane Figliomeni
and Allan Bayne.)


Gold At The end Of The First Five
For  Ontario boxer Mike Strange it was now gold at the end of five
but this was not even the mid-way point of the eleven year run
as a senior open boxer and one of  the best in Canadian history.


1995 -THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD ALONG 
THE MIKE STRANGE BOXING HIGHWAY


A very interesting fact is one other boxer that had fought
Michael when they were both young juniors of less than
100 pounds would be there as a Canadian champion
with Mike as a team mate for the rest of the Nineties
and who could forget Domenic Filane Figliomeni. 


The Eighties Flashback - Michael and Domenic
touched gloves and came out fighting after the
sound of the bell with the bright lights shining down,
                     Back in those early days of junior activity


But in 1995, there would be other faces that would travel for
a time down the same path as Canadian boxers on the world stage.
Some new names to add to Mike's ever growing list of fellow
Canadian champions and team mates in various shows would be
Jean Francis Bergeron, Jason Heit and Zaya Younan.


For the Canuck clouters there would be bronze and silver
at the Pan American Games in Argentina with Mike
winning the bronze along with Claude Lambert
and the silver would go to Jean Bergeron.


Olympic Boxing - Round Two for Mike Strange
       1996 - (courtesy of the champion  Domenic Figliomeni)
Randell Thompson,Casey Patton,Wayne Gordon, Yvon Michel,
Phil Boudreault, Jean-Francis  Bergeron and Mike Strange. 


The year was 1996, and once again Michael would
be part to the Canadian Olympic Boxing team
along with other Canadians


Michael would box his way into the quarter finals with two big
decision wins over Francisco Martinez of Mexico and then
Mekkhak Ghazayan of Armenia, but drop a decision to a
Bulgarian boxer.  Team mate David Defiagbon would earn
a silver medal in the heavyweight division.

Another Four Years (1997 to 2000)
The never ending journey of Mike Strange: 


As we follow the Mike Strange boxing story, there would be
many more highlights and some new team mates and many
opponents along the way.

1998 Another Round of Commonwealth Games Action:
The 1998 Commonwealth Games would be far from the
shores of Vancouver Island, but the results would be the
same with positive results.  There would also be the face
of Domenic Figliomeni who has travelled the journey for
the many years.  But, there would be other faces from 
the past such as coach Taylor Gordon who also has that
ol Vancouver Island connection and some may recall 
that he was once a boxer competiting in the 
1963 BC Golden Gloves.  Some of the others were:
Andrew Kooner, Chad Brisson, Trevor Stewardson,
Scott McIntosh and Troy Ross.




For Michael Strange it would be Commonwealth Gold,
but in a different weight division.  In 1998, he stands tall
with the light-welterweight gold.

The last major show would be the 2000 Summer Olympics.


SOME  OTHER  HIGHLIGHTS and AWARDS
Along the way there would be plenty of awards including
Boxing Canada's "Male Boxer Of The Year".  From 
1990 to 2000, the 1990 recipient was Raynond Downey
and the 2000 recipient was Scott McIntosh, but look again
for 1995, 1996 and 1998 the BOXER OF THE YEAR
was MICHAEL "Mike" STRANGE.


Then there is Boxing Ontario and it's list of  "Boxing Ontario
Legends" and two of the names are: 
Billy Irwin and Mike Strange.


GOLDEN MEMORIES AND SILVER MOMENTS
Introduction: by brian zelley
I was expected to meet Michael in 1990, 1993 and 1994.
but due to an interesting set of circumstances, that never
happened, so my only real golden memory of Mike is that
of the long-distant shadow boxer dancing in the dark with
some silver glimpses of him from far away.  But, it is 
through the words and sounds of others that we can
appreciate Mike's achievements and his long-term
dedication to the sport of amateur boxing from a 
local level to many experiences on the stages of 
International boxing.


From the words of some of his old friends and
team mates:


BILLY "The Kid" IRWIN 
A thousand words and a 100 photos would not be able
to catch all the memories and moments, but here is just
a few of Billy's thoughts:


GRAHAM MCINTOSH, former boxer and now
a boxing coach of his own club in Kelowna, BC.
Graham was a senior open boxing champion in
1990 the year Mike won the featherweight title.
One of Graham's memories relates to a dual
Canada vs USA matches with s strong view
of Mike battle with Oscar de la Hoya:
"I remember Mike beating de la Hoya in a
close counter-punching battle.  Unfortunately
the judges didn't see it that way, 2-1 split.


Other boxers from Scotty Olson to Vern Linklater
have recognized and praised Mike.  Then of course,
Domenic Filane Figliomeni has not only said many
excellent comment, but remembers his junior bout
with Michael and there many trips and travels.
Domenic has been the go-to-guy for highlighting
and recognizing many of the past champions of
the Nineties including his outstanding video of
Canada's boxing team at the 1992 Olympic Games
and the Facebook site:
"Fans of  the Canadian & Olympic Teams Alumni"
and organizing a re-union of past champions where
many of those that were there in the Nineties came
together for a moment in time:
                       Michael Strange and Vernon Linklater 



In Summary, How do we measure Excellence?
There is no need to measure the excellence of Michael Strange.
Although, this is not a complete boxing story, it attempts to 
highlight some key moments in time.  There is no attempt to
try and rank Michael against any other Canadian boxer.
Mike's record stands on it's own along side the records of 
such long term champions as
IAN CLYDE and DOMENIC FIGLIOMENI.
Mike's three-time competition in the Olympic Games
is, for boxing, the sign of supreme excellence.
Along this long journey, Mike has come into contact
with hundreds of folks involved in boxing, and during
his time as a junior boxer to a senior elite champion
there have been many club mates and team mates
and some like BILLY IRWIN were there in the early years,
the championship days and the post-active boxing days. 

Monday, November 7, 2011

1984 JUNIOR NATIONALS and SENIOR BOX-OFFS FOR THE OLYMPIC TEAM

MAY 1984 REVISTED and POST EVENTS:  Brian Zelley

Introduction
The 1984 Junior Nationals and Senior Box-offs for the
Canadian Olympic Boxing team had many individuals 
involved.  Now, 27 years later, that tournament that took
place so long ago is nominated for induction into the 
BRITISH COLUMBIA AMATER BOXING HALL of FAME.

From boxers, coaches, officials, Canadian and BC executive
members, there have been many stories and achievements by
some members of the cast and crew of that tournament that
was staged in the Boxing BC "Training Centre" in Burnaby.
Sadly, through the passages of time, a number of the athletes,
coaches and officials are only here in our memories including
the training centre and one of the folks behind the centre,
GEORGE ARMSON and the three BC officials
 that were part of the show, BERT LOWES,
 RON WHALLEY and FRED FULLER. 
 Also gone is Canadian director
and first president of BOXING CANADA,
 Jerry Shears.
(photo, the late Ron Whalley)

Senior Box-of Competitors:
Steve Pagendam
Steve Nolan
John Kalbhenn
Sylvain Thibeault
Peter Britt
Dennis Lambert
Shawn O'Sullivan
Lawrence Rolfe
Rick Duff
Darrell Flint
Ken Johnson
Wayne Welsh
Those that were added to the Olympic team were:
Steve Pagendam, John Kalbehn, Dennis Lambert,
Shawn O'Sullivan (see photo) and Rick Duff.
KEN JOHNSON defeated Canadian champ,
Wayne Welsh, but was not selected for the 
team.


Shawn  O'Sullivan would go to LA and be one 
of three Canadian boxers to earn medals.


1984 JUNIOR CHAMPIONS and RUNNER-UPS






THE CHAMPIONS:
Norman Tynes
Corey Burton
Aaron Wolfe
Eric Grenier
Scotty Olson
Mario Bergeron
Jeff Beliveau
Jamie Sparks
John Walker
Stewart Hilton
Tom Glesby
Mike Reuter
Willy Curry
(photo - Duffy)




1984 Silver Medalists:
Edgar Davis (Alberta), Wesley Sunshine (Sask.)
B. Christie (Ontario), Charles Beaudry (Ont.)
Rene Cadran (Que.), Giles Bisaillon (Ont.)
Tony Duffy (BC), R. Wiswell (Nova Scotia)
Shawn Downey (NS), Ray Downey (NS)
R. Walsh (NS), D. Stripe (Ontario)
Brian Hatfield (Nova Scotia).


Ray Downey would follow-up his achievements
with a medal in the 1988 Olympic Games.


TEAM BC BOXERS:
Curtis Peterson, Aaron Wolfe, John Turner, Suraj Jaswal,
Tony Francis, Tony Duffy, Manny Sobral, Clint Dumais,
and Willy Curry.
  BRITISH COLUMBIA's MANNY SOBRAL  and ALAN BROWN
       Training at Bob Decker's Shamrock Boxing Club, Vancouver
                   Sobral would  be part of the 1988 Olympic Team

Sunday, November 6, 2011

1984 ANNUAL - BC AMATEUR BOXING NEWS


"BRITISH COLUMBIA AMATEUR BOXING 
ANNUAL AND 1984 SUMMER OLYMPICS"
-Editor:  Brian Zelley, President: George Armson.


(The annual of 1984 would summarize the past years
activity including the LA Oympics  with 14 pages
of news, views and photos.).



Page 2:  Editor's Tribute
.The listing of 36 names of persons that helped me
during the year with information that would be used
in one or more "BC AMATEUR BOXING NEWS".


George Armson, Monty Brown, Ron Butlin, Mike Caird,
Bob Carswell, Howard Curling, Bob Decker, Bob Edgett,
Dr. J. Falletta, Jolly Edwards, Ainslie Frame, Greg Eakes,
Jim Hills, Glynn Jones, Shirley Knopp, Sid Knopp, John 
Kovac, Barry Krangle, Sukhi Lalli, Bert Lowes, Dick MacLean,
Bill MacAllister, Ken Marjoram, Marg O'Reilly, Norman
Racicot, Dorothy Runacres, Brian Sacho, Jerry Shears, 
Art Smith, Dick St. Louis, Chuck Syme, Dave Thompson,
Joe Webb, Ian Weir, Bill Zelley and Dorothy Zelley.
                                    Mike Caird - 1963


Also, on page two was listed the Board of Directors as of
the end of the year.  Bob Decker started but did not finish
his term.  The directors pre-election were:
George Armson, Sid Knopp, Marg O'Reilly, 
Larry Carney, Shirley Knopp, Bert Lowes,
Glynn Jones, Brian Zelley and Dave Thompson.


Closing out page two was an Olympic CP photo with Canada's
Dale Walters and  Japanese boxer Hiroaki Takami. 


Page 3:  "At The Bell" by Brian Zelley
Summary of events from the September 1983
AGM to the July 1984 Olympic boxing team
training in Burnaby.  


Also, a list of areas that we can improve including the basic skills
of our boxers, and the level and quality of public realations to the
club level.  


Pages 4 to 7 included an annual round-up with photos on 
page 7 of Rick Brough, Scott Cessford, Alan Brown, 
Dale Walers and Lennox Lewis.




Page 10 and 11:  "The Third Man - Referees" by Brian Zelley.
Included "Hints For Referees", "Caution" and "Conclusions".


Page 12:  "Jerry's Jabs" by Jerry Shears and then
half of page 12 through page 14 related to Olympic coverage.


HOPE and VISION:
Page 8:  Various titles, but one that took 26 years to realize
in 2010, the title of the piece "WISHES, HOPES and DREAMS"
"...Although there are a number of annual awards that are given 
to our members, your editor would like to see the establishment
of something of a permanent nature.  Therefore, we should
establish a:
BRITISH COLUMBIA AMATEUR BOXING HALL OF FAME"


2010 -  For 26 years, the above idea became lost and forgotten
and just faded away, and the ashes of the idea were
like dust in the wind.


But, through the efforts of a small group, the idea was re-ignited
and the hopes, wishes and dreams became a reality with the start of the
BRITISH COLUMBIA AMATEUR BOXING HALL OF FAME. 


September 2011,  27 long years since the 1984 idea, and ten
more inductees were recognized and added  to the core
group of 15 and the count is now 25 in September.



And, in September 2012 there will be others to recognize and remember.