THE DONNIE ORR BOXING STORY

THE BOXING JOURNEY OF DONNIE ORR:  by Brian Zelley

      DONNIE (BOY) ORR - 2000 Olympic Games


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:

BRIAN ZELLEY - Amateur Boxing

ZELLEY's ROUND

The term Zelley's Round is a term used by the Sportcaster sports paper published in Victoria, BC, Canada
in the Seventies and Eighties. During this time period, I belonged to four different boxing clubs in Victoria.
To cover events that were not covered in detail in the local daily paper, I wrote numerous articles on boxing
with a Greater Victoria connection. In the early years, the term "Zelley's Round" was not used.

An example of the early years was:
BOXING
"A Tournament Of Champions" - By Brian Zelley, "The Sportcaster", November 14, 1974

This article covered Victoria boxers engaged in a "tournament of Champions" that took place
in Nanaimo, BC on November 2, 1974. The event was hosted by the Nanaimo Boxing Club.
The three boxers engaged in activity were DAN WRIGHT, TERRY ORR, and IAN WEIR.

The article also touched on a bout by boxer Ian Weir on October 26, 1974
when he faced Del Morgan of North Dakota.

It also, commented on a Canadian bout that featured University of Victoria studen Wayne Crowe
on Wild World of Sports television show in November relating to a May 1974 Championships.