By Brian Zelley and Barry Krangle
(note part of the information was from the Vancouver Island
Boxing News and the British Columbia Amateur Boxing News)
Introduction:
TONY DUFFY
1984 BC JUNIOR
GOLDEN BOY
In recent days, former boxer Tony Duffy of the
Sunshine Boxing Club in Gibsons was nominated
in the JUNIOR/YOUTH BOXING CATEGORY
for the 2012 selection to the BRITISH COLUMBIA
AMATEUR BOXING HALL OF FAME.
I first watched Tony compete in boxing shows in the
early Eighties. In the May 1984 issue of the
BRITISH COLUMBIA AMATEUR BOXING NEWS
I featured him on page 4 with the photo of him with
the 1984 Junior Golden Boy Award and remember
him in a special elimination bout with Victoria boxer
Paul DeLuca to determine which boxer would be
selected for the BOXING BC team to compete in
the 1984 JUNIOR NATIONALS to be held at
the BC amateur boxing training centre in Burnaby.
In that bout, young Duffy won to join the BC team
that included:
Curtis Peterson, Aaron Wolfe, John Turner,
Suraj Jaswal, Tony Francis, Manny Sobral,
Clint Dumais, and Willy Curry.
coached by BARRY KRANGLE
TONY DUFFY, 1984
BC JUNIOR GOLDEN BOY
RING ACTION
MARCH 12, 1983 Campbell River Club Show
One of the many club shows that Tony participated in
took place in the spring of '83 was that 19 bout card
hosted by the Campbell River Eagles Boxing Club.
In that bout, Tony faced home town boy CORY WILLCOX
in seventh bout of the night. For tough Tony it turned out to
be lucky number 7 with a victory. Some other well known
boxers in action among the 38 boxers were Paul Deluca,
Lyle Jack, Mike Wood, Kit Munro, Jita Nagra, Gordy Jones,
Tim Cessford, Alan Brown, Gary Wood and Ron Young.
Host Club coaches were: George Shiels, Jim Howie and
Charles John. Head official was Rick Brough, and other
officials were Joe Swift, Bernie Brisch, Bill Donnelly,
Bob Perry, Brian Zelley, Art Shiels, and Carson Samuels.
Medical official was Dr. John Ross and announcer was
T. Bently whie timekeeping duties by Jim Hardy.
EMERALD GLOVES CHAMPION - November 1984
One of the post 1984 Junior National tournaments that
Duffy took part in was the 1984 Emerald Gloves that
took place on November 17th. Tony would become one
on nine contested champions in junior open bouts. In the
final Tony won the championship with a victory over
Victoria boxer Paul Deluca Jr. in the featherweight
(125C) division. Other C division champions were
Mike Marrello, Suraj Jaswal and Manny Sobral.
For his efforts TONY DUFFY was the Emerald Boy
runner-up with B class boxer Troy Taylor as top boxer.
The Emerald Gloves was founded by Brother O'Grady
and the first Emerald Boy was Mel Jacobs of the
St. Paul's Indian School in 1951.
JUNIOR GOLDEN GLOVES - February 17, 1985
1984 Junior Golden Boy TONY DUFFY entered the
1985 Junior Golden Gloves in the lightweight division
and in the championship bout he defeated Bud Rellor
of Kelso. Some of the other champions in the C class
were Curtis Peterson, Mike Marrello, John Allen,
Kevin Lyons and Justin Migneault. RING OFFICIALS:
Chief of Officials: Bert Lowes, and officials:
Fred Fuller, Al Young, Jim Gallagher, Jack Mellor,
Larry Carney, Rene Serriani, Bob Seckler, and
Brian Zelley. Others: Dot Lowes, Dr. Sandhu,
Gordie Jones and Boyd Bayne.
There would be many other club shows and tournaments
and training under the capable hands of BARRY KRANGLE
April 1, 1985: Maple Ridge Club show, and as reported
in the "BC Amateur Boxing News", two of the standouts
in the show were Gordie Jones and Tony Duffy.
1985 TONY DUFFY, CANADIAN CHAMPION
COACHES' CORNER - The Golden Memories of Barry Krangle:
The early years - stepping into the Sunshine:
Following the 1984 and 1985 Nationals, Tony continued to engage in activity.
The following are some thoughts by coach Krangle about 1987 activity
BACK TO TRAINING:
1988 THE OLYMPIC YEAR, Tony's moments, through the eyes
of the coach with a few words from Tony about some of the
moments and the continued friendships with those he fought
or trained with throughout the Eighties.
FAST FORWARD TO 2011 - A Date With 2012
Tony was nominated in October 2011 in the Junior/Youth
category of the BRITISH COLUMBIA AMATEUR BOXING
HALL OF FAME for 2012. The final decision will be made
by September 2012. Looking through the many years of
activity, Tony would be a worthy inductee.
2012 Inductees video
