A legend in her own right
It is only fitting that Val Ryan join her husband Vinnie on the list of Niagara Boxing Legends.
The 74-year-old Ancaster resident, who was born in London, England, but grew up in Beamsville and was driving a tractor on the family farm by the time she was 10, has been joined at the hip with her husband for decades.
“I guess that is where I got my strong work ethic,” the Beamsville high grad said of her upbringing.
Her and Vinnie owned a mechanical contracting company called Varan Mechanical and they worked side by side there. When their work day was over, the couple went to McGrory’s Boxing Club in Hamilton, where Vinnie coached and Val helped out in any way she could.
“It was funny. We were every night at the club and every day at the business together so I guess we were OK.”
In 1989, Val became involved with Boxing Canada doing computer scoring and she would eventually become the president of Boxing Ontario.
“I think they needed a little direction there. With my business background, it helped and we were very successful,” she said. “We got together with Ontario Lottery and Gaming and ran a big event. We used to have boxing events at race tracks and that brought in quite a bit of money for the association and the clubs.”
Ryan took a lot of pride in being president of a male-dominated sport. She felt like a trailblazer during her tenure.
“At the time, my executive director was also a woman, Robin Witty. It was funny going into meetings at the ministry and there would be two women coming in to talk about boxing.”
She is pleased that she has been able to open doors for and inspire other women such as Jennifer Huggins, the current president of Boxing Ontario.
“She is awesome and I really like her,” Ryan said. “We talk and she is doing a great job.”
After ending her presidency at Boxing Ontario, Ryan became a board member at Boxing Canada and served in that capacity for six years. She is still helping out with Boxing Canada, serving as the supervisor at nationals until COVID put them on hold the past few years.
“You oversee the event, you sit at ringside and you supervise and schedule the bouts.”
Regardless of her role, she always made sure it was the athletes who were at the centre of whatever she did.
“I made sure they had their boxing outfits when we went away to nationals and I tried to put them first.”
She has always been passionate about the sport of boxing.
“I love the sport and I find it very technical. I like to see the young athletes develop and move on to careers and different things,” she said. “It has been nice to see so many success stories.”
Val is honoured to be recognized as a Niagara Boxing Legend.
“I hate to be in the spotlight like this, but it is very nice of Joe (Corrigan),” she said.
Ryan is extremely fond of Corrigan and the St. Catharines Boxing Club.
“I love Joe. He ran nationals, he runs tournaments and his shows are outstanding. He really puts a lot effort into them.”
Among the 12 bouts scheduled for the Niagara Boxing Legends card are three fights involving provincial champions, including: a 75-kilogram fight between Dylan Maisonneuve of the St. Catharines Boxing Club and Bramalea’s Eric Delmonte; ABomb’s Tiago Balteiro versus Top Glove’s Matt Cooper in a 92-kilogram bout; and, Stockyards’ Jose Valdez against Top Glove’s Austine Bayani in a 57-kilogram fight.
For more information on tickets call 905-988-1244 or email stcatharinesboxingclub@yahoo.ca. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the action begins at 7:30 p.m.
