LIFE and TIMES of PRO BOXING in WESTERN CANADA

BRITISH COLUMBIA PRO BOXING: by Brian Zelley

Looking back there have been many names in the game.
Some names from the Forties would include the likes of
Kenny Lindsay, Frank and Stan Almond, Jackie Turner
and many more, but other earlier names include those
such as JIMMY MCLARNIN, BILLY TOWNSEND
and TOMMY PAONESSA.

As we move forward in time many other boxers
would be part of the pro boxing scene in the
Pacific Northwest such as LENNIE WALTERS
 HAROLD MANN and JIMMY WALTERS.
 Others would follow over the years. Some names oF 
 interest include:
GORD RACETTE, JAMIE OLLENBERGER and
GORDIE LAWSON but we cannot forget others
such as MICHAEL OLAJIDE jR.,  TONY PEP,
DALE WALTERS, MANNY SOBRAL nd others.

Stefan Melideo, Mike Caird & Chris Jones

Stefan Melideo, Mike Caird & Chris Jones
Recently updated the story to mention three-time junior
GOLDEN BOY, CLIFF BALLENDINE and linked it to
"SUPPORT YOUTH BOXING IN CANADA, THEY BELONG"

ALBRECHTSEN to MCLELLAN A BOXING JOURNEY

THE WILLIAMS LAKE BOXING STORY: by Brian Zelley

INTRODUCTION - a brief moment in time


(special thanks to Stuart C. McLellan for his approval)


There are many parts to the Albrechtsen and McLellan boxing
journey.  If we focus on the here and now, we have the 
fighting spirit and action of the MCLELLAN brothers  in the world
of professional boxing or the dedication of coaches such as 
RICK ALBRECHTSEN.   But before Rick there was Leif
and the Williams Lake Boxing Club and the many active 
boxers and some of the regional boxers from Prince George
and Quesnel.  Today in 2011, there are still active amateur
boxers in the region between Spruce Trees and Cowboy
Country between Prince George and Williams Lake.  So,
it is important to start our story on a specific day in the 
past.  A good a day as any would be January 14, 1984
where we go back to basics with a club show in 
Williams Lake with the host coach being LEIF ALBRECHTSEN
and the head official being well known Prince George official
THORKY LARSEN.


YESTERDAY's Club Show - January 14, 1984


For Amateur Boxing in British Columbia, the
Williams Lake Boxing Card was one of four
that took place in January 1984.  Another took place
in Ladysmith and a special show took place at the 
Kent Security Institution then there was the 
Kelowna Boxing Club show on January 14th.
Also, the BC INTERMEDIATE and SENIOR
GOLDEN GLOVES were held on January 21st.
at the Training Facility in Burnaby, B.C.


For Williams Lake, the other invited clubs were
from nearby Prince George and Quesnel.
William Lake boxers were:
Roger LaFlame, Kuldip Parmar, Darrell Dickson, 
Danny and Kelly Price, Ryan Darcy, Peter Marten,
Ike Kalest, Cass McDonald, Rick Naveltene and
Rick Albrechtsen. 


HOST CLUB COACH - LEIF ALBRECHTSEN.



TODAY - 2011
For the 2010/2011 season the club coaches include:
RICK ALBRECHTSEN and GARY MCLELLAN.


There is a cross-section of male boxers:

Also, there is one registered female boxer -  LAURA KLASSEN 


PROFESSIONAL LEVEL
The two McLellan brother Roberto and Stuart are involved in 
Professional boxing with some success in Canada.


In 2011, the Williams Lake amateur boxers have engage
in ring activity including a club show in Quesnel and 
the 2011 Silver Gloves Tournament in Prince George.
Women boxer Laura engaged in an exhibition bout
in the Quesnel  boxing show, and Willimas Lake boxer
HARLEY MULVAHILL  engaged in the main event in
an action-packed bout with RAY BEAULIEU. 

LALLY and PEGUES chat on Daybreak North

LALLY and PEGUES Interviews
It was another routine day for "Daybreak North" when
Kenny Lally was interviewed about his boxing journey.
also interviewed was Prince George based coach Bob Pegues.

Kenny and Bob met up with Robert Doane at the UNBC
Sports Centre and demonstrated two types of left hooks and
then touches on his first tournament in the Bronze Gloves.

Also, touches on the World Championships and the
need to win three bouts to qualify for the Olympics.

Bob touches on the thrills of coaching Kenny
and the skills of Kenny and the importance of
preparing for bouts.

CBC.ca | Daybreak North
| Prince George boxer has Olympic dreams

KENNY LALLY - A NEW CHAPTER IN THE BOXING STORY

A NEW DAY BEGINS FOR KENNY LALLY:  by brian zelley

     Canadian Champion Kenny Lally and Coach Bob Pegues 2009

Introduction
The first story looked back at Kenny's boxing journey
from those early days in Prince George to his victory
in the 2011 Boxing Canada senior elite boxing
championships and his earning a place on the 
A-Team.

MOMENT IN MAY AT REGINA
In the month of May, Kenny won a pair of bouts over
England's GARETH SMITH in the annual 
KEN GOFF MEMORIAL and the MAYOR'S CUP.

                   (Boxing Canada Team in 2011 - The medal count)

PUNCHING IN PUERTO RICO in JULY

Kenny followed-up his two wins against England in Regina
to split a pair of bouts in Puerto Rico.

THE 2011 WORLD AMATEUR BOXING CHAMPIONSHIPS

The World championships in October for Kenny Lally and 
his team mates will be very important in the selection process
for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.   For those A and  B
team members, and the women boxers, some will see action in
the 2011 Pan American Games. 

TRAINING CAMPS
There were expectations that Canadian boxers would train
in Hungary, but the late August news is the Hungarian 
experience will be replaced by a training date in Germany.

NEWS and VIEWS

BC AMATEUR BOXING HALL of FAME - 2010 - Blogs - Boxing Forums

BC AMATEUR BOXING HALL of FAME - 2010 - Blogs - Boxing Forums

THE MIKE KENNEDY BOXING JOURNEY

MIKE KENNEDY a boxer's story: by brian zelley

THE FIRST ROUND: the introduction

As I LOOK BACK TO THE eighties MIKE KENNEDY was one of the
boxers of British Columbia that quickly showed he had ability and desire.

Mike joined the Victoria Jaycees boxing club founded by
 LOU BUJDOSO in the late Seventies.  Some of the one
 time coaches for the Jaycees were Bujdoso, Brian Zelley,
 Mike Sartori, Paul DeLuca and Barnes.

Aside from MIKE KENNEDY, some of the other boxers
for the Jaycees in the late Seventies to the mid Eighties
were KIT MUNRO, KIRK RANNERIS, AUGUST DOS REIS,
DEAN DELUCA, PAUL DELUCA, PAUL WADE,
RON OGDEN and many more.

ROUND 2 -  BC TOURNAMENT WIN

RING ROUND-UP:  1983 S.I.N. October 22nd.

In prelim action Victoria's Mike Kennedy earned  a victory over
MIKE PARSONS of the Prince George Spruce Capital club,
then moved into the finals with a victory of the Shamrock boxer
EDDIE LEE.

Other Victoria boxers were:
Lyle Ritchie,  Paul Wade, Ian Middleditch,  and Augusto dos Reis.

Some of the other boxers from various clubs were the likes of:
Ray Abraham, Tod Hatley, Tim Cessford, Jesse Kaellis, 
Duncan Murdoch, Tonka Young, Isaac Gock, Jason Trottier,
Terry Dermott and Kelowna's Mark Smith.

Ringside Officials:
Bert Lowes, Fred Fuller, Sid Knopp, Rudy Bianco, Larry Krangle,
Jack Mellor, Brian Zelley, Lindy Lindmoser, Bill Gurvich Allen Young
and Vic Murdoch.  Glovers:  Tommy Yule and Gordon Miller.

ROUND THREE - the Victoria Club Show

NOVEMBER 13, 1983 MIKE WINS

As reported in the December 1983 issue of the
BC Amateur Boxing News it was one of the regular
club shows hosted by the Victoria Jaycees and this one
took place at the Gordon Head Recreation Centre.

Mike Kennedy would face the capable Scott Cessford of the
Parksville-Qualicum Boxing Club operated by Smith and Sacho
in the main event.

Other Victoria boxers in action were:
Augusto dos Reis, Ian Middleditch, Scott Wood,  Lyle Ritchie,
Kirk Ranneris, Kit Munro, Paul Wade and Paul DeLuca.
Other boxers will represent Ladysmith, Parksville, Richmond
and the Queensborough boxing club of New Westminster.

Some of the other boxers were:
Tony Willis, Paul Bottomly,  Jay Grewal, Clint Dumais, 
Rick Cox, Dave and Lyle Hendrickson, Brent Lackie, 
Robert Lowe, Tim and Scott Cessford and Troy Taylor.

Officials were:
Head official:  Brian Zelley
Others:  Bob Perry, Howard Curling, Ian Weir and 
Tom Turnbull while gloving was handled by Steve Bsrnes.

It was a good afternoon for boxing and MIKE KENNEDY 
would do an excellent job in the main event with Cessford.

ROUND 4: 1984 BC GOLDEN GLOVES

KENNEDY  would be one of many that would compete in the
Senior and Intermediate Golden Gloves and would be one
of four good senior welterweight boxers.  The other three would be
GERALD PETERS, KEN SMITH and AL HARPER.

Other well known names that competed include Dale Walters,
Lee Gauthier, Willie Currie, Alex Angelomatis, Joe Pendry,
Deep Butter, Cody Redford, Peter Paskie, Lawrence Rolfe,
Roman Grimared, Glen Quocksister and many others.
Golden Boy for the tournament was MIKE O'CONNELL
of the Hastings Community Centre Boxing Club.

OFFICIALS - Bert Lowes, Fred Fuller, Rudy Bianco,
Sid Knopp, Vic Murdoch, Larry Carney, Earl Vance,
Jack Mellor, Larry Krangle, Brian Zelley, Rick Brough,
and Robert Newbrook. 

The Mike Kennedy Boxing Story:

According to Mike, his story is a work in process but below is

a sample of the cover for the story: