November 30, 2005
The weekend’s anticipated matchups did not disappoint. In the Senior Male 57kg division, three defending Provincial Champions in Brad Brooks (Belleville), Clay Dales (Motor City – Oshawa), and Jesse Ennis (Windsor) all faced each other for one prize. Ennis proved to be the winner by defeating Brooks (RSCOS-3) on Saturday and Dales (37-17) on Sunday. The Senior Male Heavyweight (91kg) class featured rivals Frank White (Bluewater – Sarnia) and Justin White (McGrory’s – Hamilton) in another dramatic clash. Through three rounds it was neck-and-neck, but this time it ended anti-climactically as Frank White was disqualified for a late punch after the bell.
The senior female bouts were also highly contested. Isabelle Perreault of Beaver Boxing Club (Ottawa) outlasted Robyn Richards of the St. Catharines Amateur Boxing Club 25 – 11 in her first bout of the 63kg division. Facing last year’s National Junior Champion, Robyn Starr of Big Tyme, Isabelle was relentless and outscored the new senior’s debut by RSCOS in the second round. The other women’s main event pitted Marianne Millar of Regency Boxing Club (Hamilton) versus Amber Konikow of Fight Club in Sudbury. Millar had to first defeat Karen Bell of Sault St. Marie (23 – 7) to reach the 70kg Senior Female finals. In a tightly fought gold medal bout, Millar came away the victor with a 13 – 8 score.
Best Male Boxer for the tournament was awarded to Richard Reittie of Sully’s Boxing Gym in Toronto. Reittie defeated Luke Fuderer of BEL Boxing Club in Bridgenorth by outscoring him (RSCOS) in the second round. He continued his dominance in the finals on Sunday by handing Sully’s teammate Andrew McDonald an RSCOS in the second round to win the 75kg division. A National Silver Medalist last year, Richard is looking to avenge his loss to Quebec’s Adonis Stevenson. In preparation he will be competing for Canada at the Francophone Games in Niger in 2 weeks time.
Best Female Boxer for the weekend was Linda Ludwig of Steeltown Boxing Club in Hamilton. Ludwig battled Jenn Turner of the St. Catharines Amateur Boxing Club to a 23 – 14 victory on Friday, then defeated Stephanie Swayne of Cabbagetown in Toronto on Saturday by a score of 29 – 16. A grueling third match on finals Sunday pitted Linda versus Wendy Lee Baird of Gale Kerwin Boxing Club of Ottawa in the 60kg class. Baird won a Bronze medal at the Nationals last season. Ludwig showed perseverance and skill in beating her opponent by RSCOS in the second round.
Best Junior Male Boxer saw Logan Cotton of Big Tyme Boxing in Orangeville taking home the award. Logan recently dominated the 64kg Open division at the Arnie Boehm Memorial tournament, and he did not skip a beat in Sarnia. After winning his first bout by walkover, Cotton defeated Zishan Khan of Champion Boxing Club in Brampton by a 52-30 score and Tim Smith of Peterborough’s Boxing Factory by RSCOS in the third round.
All gold medal winners will now go on to represent Ontario at the National Championships. The Senior National Championships will be held in St. Catharines, Ontario from January 5 – 8, 2006. The Junior National Championships will be hosted in St. Hyacinthe, Quebec from January 26 – 29, 2006. For complete tournament results from the Provincial Junior & Senior Open Championships, visit the web site www.boxingontario.com