THE MANDY BUJOLD BOXING STORY
Introduction by brian zelley:
The following ling gives a brief look at Ktchener boxer
MANDY BUJOLD with an interesting comparison of
the basement boxing to hope to touch the Olympic rings.
TheRecord - Olympic dream began in the basement
At the resent time, Mandy is one of the select few of women
boxers that are hoping to make history with a spot on the
Olympic team and to be one of the first to compete woman
boxers to compete in the Olympic Games scheduled for
London, England in 2012.
THE GATE CLOSES
During the Month of May in China, Mandy was eliminated
from a possible berth onto the Canadian Boxing Olympic Team.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ANGELO DUNDEE
ANGELO DUNDEE BOXING JOURNEY: By Brian Zelley
Introduction:
The following link is one of thousands of stories about the
passing of famous boxing trainer ANGELO DUNDEE.
One of the important stories was the time a young Cassius Clay
came to a hotel to visit Dundee's boxer WILLIE PASTRANO.
The story has been told with several versions, but the important
point it started the team of Angelo Dundee and Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali.
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/01/3404747/ali-trainer-angelo-dundee-dies.html
In another story, I tell of meeting Muhammad Ali in 1972, and part of that story
was visiting him at his penthouse suite in the Georgia Hotel in Vancouver
and knocking on his door, and it was after I mentioned the time he
visited Willie Pastrano in a hotel, that he smiled and let us enter his room.
Introduction:
The following link is one of thousands of stories about the
passing of famous boxing trainer ANGELO DUNDEE.
One of the important stories was the time a young Cassius Clay
came to a hotel to visit Dundee's boxer WILLIE PASTRANO.
The story has been told with several versions, but the important
point it started the team of Angelo Dundee and Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali.
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/01/3404747/ali-trainer-angelo-dundee-dies.html
In another story, I tell of meeting Muhammad Ali in 1972, and part of that story
was visiting him at his penthouse suite in the Georgia Hotel in Vancouver
and knocking on his door, and it was after I mentioned the time he
visited Willie Pastrano in a hotel, that he smiled and let us enter his room.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
MEETING MUHAMMAD ALI
MUHAMMAD ALI
MEETING ALI 1972: By Brian Zelley
With the birthday of Muhammad Ali, many boxing fans and alumni of boxing
recall meeting Muhammad Alia aka Cassius Marcellus Clay at some
event, some club or at a Boxing tournament.
My personal meeting with Muhammad Ali took place in 1972.
I had seen him in an exhibition in Vancouver the night George Chuvalo
defeated Charley Chase in a Canadian heavyweight fight.
Also, I saw him at the gym in North Vancouver training for a bout
with George Chuvalo. At that time, a fellow amateur boxer named
Dan Wright and I were hanging our with one time
welterweight contender Manual Gonzalez and his trainer from
Houston, Texas Billy DeFoe.
Also at some of the gatherings was Ray Ormandy,
a cousin to John Ormandy who helped Dan and I start the
Nanaimo Boxing Club in 1971.
Manny was scheduled to fight Canada's CLYDE GRAY
in the semi-main event to ALI - CHUVALO so we took Manny and Billy
to the gym for training during the same time that Ali was training.
MANUEL GONZALEZ
THE REAL MEETING
Of interest, for Dan Wright and myself, there was never any plan to
visit Ali, but due to a number of circumstances, there was an opportunity
to meet him face-tp-face and in the privacy of Ali's penthouse suite
at the Hotel Georgia.
It was after dropping Manny and Billy off and walking them
to the ninth floor to say goodbye until the next day.
On our way out we happened to run into a well known
boxing promoter (in future years) and he wanted to know
why we were on the floor . So we told him and he asked us
if we would like to see MUHAMMAD ALI.
Now we had all ready seen him at the gym, but this was
an opportunity to visit him in person. So he gave us some Ali
photos and told us where he was staying. But, there was
no guarantees that he would give us the time of day.
That's when I remembered the story of
a young Cassius Clay knocking on a hotel door to
see WILLIE PASTRANO.
WILLIE PASTRANO
THE MEETING
So, we left the 9th floor to go to the top floor and Ali's penthouse suite.
We knocked on the door, and the door opened, and a larger than life
MUHAMMAD ALI stepped out to talk to WRIGHT and ZELLEY.
After a bit of small talk, I mentioned to Ali about the Willie Pastrano
moment and his meeting a young Cassius Clay so many years ago.
Those few brief comments created an instant change in the
face of Ali from a serious athlete spending a few moments
with possible fans to a great big smile and a grin.
Then while still in the hall Muhammad opened the room door wide
and said come on in. So we did,
Then we got to chat about serious stuff like about
Luis Rodriguez and other boxers.
Before leaving he asked to sign the photos that we had in our hands.
It was after this meeting with Muhammd Ali
and Manuel Gonzalez that I would have my last
fight and I would win big time in one of my
most perfect fights ever.
BRIAN ZELLEY vs CLARK MACLELLAN
"The post fight pose of the last fight"
My performance was aided by my
days with Manny Gonzalez who
showed me some great moves of moving
only inches instead of feet to make them miss
and be in range to score punches with ease.
Part of our experience was included in the
Nanaimo Daily Free Press when I visited sports editor Mark Kiemele
but we did not talk about the visit with Ali because at the time
it was a private moment and not a hot media story.
(Note: For those that do not know who Billy DeFoe is:
Think of Willie Pep, the all-time great featherweight champion,
then think of former lightweight champion Joe Brown.
And, a name behind those two great champions was
Lou Viscusi, but Billy was a trainer, and after Joe
lost his title to Carlos Ortiz, Billy became the
full time trainer of Joe Brown then known as "Old Bones"
Back in Houston Texas there was a whold gym full
of talented fighters including Cleve Williams and
a young Manuel Gonzalez who had a classy style
handed down by the likes of Pep and Brown.
Then in the mid-Sixties, the stylish Manny
turned puncher when he faced top contender
Garland Rip Randall and the rest is history.
Manny got a not-title fight with the great Emile Griffith
and won the decision. It led to a title fight and a lot of other
top fights with the world's best welterweights in
the mid to late Sixties with Billy Defoe in the picture)
A Facebook Site
The above site was established some time ago
but has not been active, but with Ali expected
to arrive in Victoria, BC, Canada
May 26, 2012
attempts will be made to activate the site.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
2011 ZELLEY ON BOXING REVISITED
LOOKING BACK TO THE 2011 STORIES: By Brian Zelley
Although there were about 57 topics, the stories about individuals
were very rewarding to do with the help of those individuals and
others.
Summary of the key boxing stories of individuals:
*The Kenny Lally Boxing Story,
*The Alex Torres Rynn Story,
*Tommy Paonessa, Boxing Pioneer,
*The Alan Brown Boxing Story,
*The Gordie Lawson Boxing Story
- Finding The Golden Key,
*Lennie Walters - BC Boxing Legend,
*The Mike Kennedy Boxing Story,
*The Bert Lowes Boxing Story,
*The Tony Duffy Boxing Story,
*The Paul "P-Mac" MacKenzie Story,
*The Roger Adolph Boxing Story,
*The Mike Strange Boxing Story,.
THANKS TO THOSE THAT HELPED:
*Kenny Lally, Jamie "TNT" Taylor, Jaime Lynn Ward,
Alex Torres Rynn, Paul MacKenzie, Marc Whelton,
Kevin McDermott, John Paonessa, Steve Wood, Alan Brown,
Glenn McGee, Rick Fleck, Gordy Racette,
Gordie Lawson, Monique, David Ius, Dale Walters,
Mike Kennedy, Roger Adolph, Marcus Hume, Adam Trupish,
Tony Duffy, Barry Krangle, Billy Irwin, Michael Strange,
Doug Bolianatz, Domenic Filane Figliomeni,
Graham MacIntosh, Scotty Olson and Vern Linklater.
Although there were about 57 topics, the stories about individuals
were very rewarding to do with the help of those individuals and
Summary of the key boxing stories of individuals:
*The Kenny Lally Boxing Story,
*The Alex Torres Rynn Story,
*Tommy Paonessa, Boxing Pioneer,
*The Alan Brown Boxing Story,
*The Gordie Lawson Boxing Story
- Finding The Golden Key,
*Lennie Walters - BC Boxing Legend,
*The Mike Kennedy Boxing Story,
*The Bert Lowes Boxing Story,
*The Tony Duffy Boxing Story,
*The Paul "P-Mac" MacKenzie Story,
*The Roger Adolph Boxing Story,
*The Mike Strange Boxing Story,.
THANKS TO THOSE THAT HELPED:
*Kenny Lally, Jamie "TNT" Taylor, Jaime Lynn Ward,
Alex Torres Rynn, Paul MacKenzie, Marc Whelton,
Kevin McDermott, John Paonessa, Steve Wood, Alan Brown,
Glenn McGee, Rick Fleck, Gordy Racette,
Gordie Lawson, Monique, David Ius, Dale Walters,
Mike Kennedy, Roger Adolph, Marcus Hume, Adam Trupish,
Tony Duffy, Barry Krangle, Billy Irwin, Michael Strange,
Doug Bolianatz, Domenic Filane Figliomeni,
Graham MacIntosh, Scotty Olson and Vern Linklater.
Friday, December 16, 2011
PARKSVILLE BOXING, then and now
PARKSVILLE, BC boxing history: By Brian Zelley
Between 1954 and 1969, there was no official boxing club in Parksville.
But all that changed in the late Seventies when ART SMITH and
BRIAN SACHO former a boxing club to begin an interesting
time in amateur boxing that would be part of the Eighties.
They would have one club show before April 1984, then when
officials and coaches on Vancouver Island agreed to revive
the Vancouver Island Amateur Boxing Championships
twenty years after the last tournament in 1964, the club
in Parksville was chosen to host the tournament.
As time moved on, the Parksville area would become inactive
for amateur boxing, but in recent years a new club has been
formed with the interesting name of Genesis. Like the club
of the Eighties, the club of 2010 and 2011 was given a
chance to host a tournament. It would be the 2011
BC Bronze Gloves. Boxers from the club would do well
at the home town tournament. Some of the boxers would
also participate in the 2011 Emerald Gloves.
Between 1954 and 1969, there was no official boxing club in Parksville.
But all that changed in the late Seventies when ART SMITH and
BRIAN SACHO former a boxing club to begin an interesting
time in amateur boxing that would be part of the Eighties.
They would have one club show before April 1984, then when
officials and coaches on Vancouver Island agreed to revive
the Vancouver Island Amateur Boxing Championships
twenty years after the last tournament in 1964, the club
in Parksville was chosen to host the tournament.
As time moved on, the Parksville area would become inactive
for amateur boxing, but in recent years a new club has been
formed with the interesting name of Genesis. Like the club
of the Eighties, the club of 2010 and 2011 was given a
chance to host a tournament. It would be the 2011
BC Bronze Gloves. Boxers from the club would do well
at the home town tournament. Some of the boxers would
also participate in the 2011 Emerald Gloves.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
BC AMATEUR BOXING NEWS - May 1985
BC AMATEUR BOXING NEWS, MAY 1985: Editor, Brian Zelley
Introduction
By the time the May 1985 issue of the "News" was ready to roll
much of the 1984/1985 activity had come to an end, but there
were still some interesting things you report and there was
always an opportunity to toss in some Flashbacks.
Photos: The front cover included some boxing action from
the past, but the rest of the 12 pages was scattered with
assorted profile shots or group photos.
Page 3: Included a group photo of some of the folks that
had helped with boxing cards in Greater Vancouver
including: Len Robertson, Bob Fitchett, Tommy Paonessa,
John McCluskey, Gary Wallace and Joe Magri.
Page 4: Photos of Johnny Creanza, Jeff Demmery,
Brian Zelley and Tony James, and Mike Caird.
Page 5: Joe McCaffrey, Ed McCaffrey, Greg Demmery,
and Happy Seignor (Richmond and Astoria Boxing Clubs).
Page 6: Ian Pye (with some stats), Gary Tatton and
Ken Mitchell.
Pages 2, 7 and 9: Medal winners - Boxers in the
1985 BC Winter Games.
Page 11: Photo of Ottawa's Beaver Boxing Club
message about Steve Frame, and a photo of
boxer Brent Lackie.
Page 12: Included a photo of former boxer
Freddie Curtis and a small piece called
"The Last Round - Fred Curtis"
,the piece reported the April 19, 1985 funeral
service of Fred. Fred was an action-packed
scrapper of the Fifties. His brother Al Curtis
was the 1960 BC Golden Boy.
There was also the discussion of the potential
"British Columbia Amateur Boxing Guide".
FLASHBACKS: THE SIXTIES
Reported in several pages were old stuff
from the Sixties which named the BC
Golden Boys from 1960 to 1969:
Al Curtis, Bill Adams, Buddy Palmer,
Kalman Santosi, Brian Bremner, Freddy Fuller,
Dick Findlay, Ray Lampkin and Neil Knight.
It included the Finalist of the 1967 Diamond Belt
tournament, Emerald Boys, the Finalists in
the 1968 Silver Gloves, Finalists in the
1966 Bronze Gloves, and 21 names of
Vancouver Island boxers that had won
Island titles between 1960 and 1964.
BOXING CARD REPORT
April 12, 1985:
Host: Nanaimo Boxing Club, 10-bout card.
March 16, 1985:
Host: Cranbrook Double "E" Club, 12
regular bouts and a box-off bout between
"Smoking" Joe Pendry and Al Harper.
CROSS- CANADA - Letters from:
Bob Carswell, Rosemary Page, Ainslie Frame,
Jerry Shears, Stan Smith, Ken Marjoram,
Al Young, Dick St. Louis and Mike Sartori
THE SELECT 21 of VANCOUVER ISLAND (1960 to 1964)
Ken Alexander, Bruce Baille, Tommy Black, Mike Caird,
Larry Cardinal, Danny Daniels, Buck DeLaronde, Len Diggs,
Fred Francis, V. Jack, Bob Mosse, Gilles Nepper, Cal Osmond,
Earl Pilgrim, Wayne Powell, Sgt Ed Remin, Howey Rabey,
Rifleman Walsh, Skimp Williams and Brian Zelley.
(note: two other important names in the period were:
ALAN CURTIS, 1960 BC Golden Gloves "Golden Boy"
FRED DESROSIERS, 1964 Olympic Games boxer. )
Introduction
By the time the May 1985 issue of the "News" was ready to roll
much of the 1984/1985 activity had come to an end, but there
were still some interesting things you report and there was
always an opportunity to toss in some Flashbacks.
Photos: The front cover included some boxing action from
the past, but the rest of the 12 pages was scattered with
assorted profile shots or group photos.
Page 3: Included a group photo of some of the folks that
had helped with boxing cards in Greater Vancouver
including: Len Robertson, Bob Fitchett, Tommy Paonessa,
John McCluskey, Gary Wallace and Joe Magri.
Page 4: Photos of Johnny Creanza, Jeff Demmery,
Brian Zelley and Tony James, and Mike Caird.
Page 5: Joe McCaffrey, Ed McCaffrey, Greg Demmery,
and Happy Seignor (Richmond and Astoria Boxing Clubs).
Page 6: Ian Pye (with some stats), Gary Tatton and
Ken Mitchell.
Pages 2, 7 and 9: Medal winners - Boxers in the
1985 BC Winter Games.
Page 11: Photo of Ottawa's Beaver Boxing Club
message about Steve Frame, and a photo of
boxer Brent Lackie.
Page 12: Included a photo of former boxer
Freddie Curtis and a small piece called
"The Last Round - Fred Curtis"
,the piece reported the April 19, 1985 funeral
service of Fred. Fred was an action-packed
scrapper of the Fifties. His brother Al Curtis
was the 1960 BC Golden Boy.
There was also the discussion of the potential
"British Columbia Amateur Boxing Guide".
FLASHBACKS: THE SIXTIES
Reported in several pages were old stuff
from the Sixties which named the BC
Golden Boys from 1960 to 1969:
Al Curtis, Bill Adams, Buddy Palmer,
Kalman Santosi, Brian Bremner, Freddy Fuller,
Dick Findlay, Ray Lampkin and Neil Knight.
It included the Finalist of the 1967 Diamond Belt
tournament, Emerald Boys, the Finalists in
the 1968 Silver Gloves, Finalists in the
1966 Bronze Gloves, and 21 names of
Vancouver Island boxers that had won
Island titles between 1960 and 1964.
BOXING CARD REPORT
April 12, 1985:
Host: Nanaimo Boxing Club, 10-bout card.
March 16, 1985:
Host: Cranbrook Double "E" Club, 12
regular bouts and a box-off bout between
"Smoking" Joe Pendry and Al Harper.
CROSS- CANADA - Letters from:
Bob Carswell, Rosemary Page, Ainslie Frame,
Jerry Shears, Stan Smith, Ken Marjoram,
Al Young, Dick St. Louis and Mike Sartori
THE SELECT 21 of VANCOUVER ISLAND (1960 to 1964)
Ken Alexander, Bruce Baille, Tommy Black, Mike Caird,
Larry Cardinal, Danny Daniels, Buck DeLaronde, Len Diggs,
Fred Francis, V. Jack, Bob Mosse, Gilles Nepper, Cal Osmond,
Earl Pilgrim, Wayne Powell, Sgt Ed Remin, Howey Rabey,
Rifleman Walsh, Skimp Williams and Brian Zelley.
(note: two other important names in the period were:
ALAN CURTIS, 1960 BC Golden Gloves "Golden Boy"
FRED DESROSIERS, 1964 Olympic Games boxer. )
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