Niagara Boxing Legend Brian Baines
Brian Baines was a quick study in the sport of boxing.
The 58-year-old Port Robinson resident, who will be honoured at the 17th Annual Niagara Boxing Legends Show March 21 at the Merritton Community Centre, got started in the sport when his father, Wally, took him to the Port Dalhousie Boxing Club to train under Jimmy Neill.
“I tried it out and Jimmy told me I had a good jab and I just kept fighting. Three years into it, I won the (intermediate) Canadians in Montreal in 1982,” said the sheet metal foreman for CJ’s Express in Cambridge.
Winning the 139-pound national time when he was 14 would end up being his career highlight.
“I went to a sport awards banquet in Toronto at this big hotel and they had all the national champions in every sport. I didn’t drive at the time and I brought a girl so I had to be driven up there.”
By the time his career ended, he was a four-time provincial champion and three-time silver medalist, including an Ontario senior boxing title in 1986. He travelled across the province boxing and training and even got to spar with Lennox Lewis at a training camp.
“It gave me a lot of self-confidence with stuff like public speaking. It was so rewarding. I played all-star hockey from atom to juvenile and your team winning was great but when you are in the ring and put your hands up, there is not a better feeling in the world. You couldn’t blame anybody if you lost because it was you. If you won, it was on your own.”
He stopped boxing in his late teens.
“You get a girlfriend, you start working and you have no time.”
He ended up coaching at the Port Dalhousie Boxing Club for 12 years.
“When Jimmy Neill went back to Ireland, my dad and I had to take coaching courses from Boxing Canada. You needed to have a Level 1 or 2 to have a club. I was 16 or 17 years old and I had Level 2 for boxing. I was one of the youngest coaches in Canada.”
He would end of running the club, coaching four days a week from 6 to 9 p.m at the club on St. Paul Street.
He carried his boxing lessons into the real world.
“It gave me a good work ethic, you never give up, you keep moving and you try to focus on the positive all the time.”
Baines doesn’t follow boxing much any more.
“My son is 12 years old and he took 12 years to make and I am 58. You do the math. He has a black belt in tae kwon too. I might get him into boxing but I am worried about the head shots. Obviously I am a helicopter parent. He’s the only one I’ve got and he keeps me young. I still have all the equipment at home from the Port Dalhousie club.”
He is honoured to be inducted as a Niagara Boxing Legend.
“I am so excited and really happy. It brings back a lot of good memories for me and I am thrilled to be included.”
In 2022, Baines’ father was honoured by Boxing Ontario as part of the Legends of Boxing Series.
Also being inducted March 21 are Bruce Greenlaw, Jessie Wilcox, Bill Williams, Sonny Pascuzzi, Gerry Ryan and Baby Joe Mesi.
Tickets for the show are $20 in advance and $25 at the door with doors opening at 6:30 p.m. and the fighting starting at 7:30 p.m. For tickets, VIP tables and sponsorship opportunities, call 905-988-1244.
Former heavyweight contender Gerry Cooney will be in attendance at the fights.
