Boxing still has hold on Shawn Conlon
More than 30 years after throwing his last punch as a competitive fighter, boxing is still with Shawn Conlon.
“I have played a number of sports since then and I do a lot of competitive mountain biking. That experience with boxing, your coaches and the stuff that you carry with you transcends into different sports,” said the 52-year-old Niagara Falls native, who will be inducted as a Niagara Boxing Legend at a fight card March 25 at the Merritton Community Centre in St. Catharines.
Boxing also spilled over into other aspects of Conlon’s life.
“It has effected my work ethic and my adventurism,” said the toolmaker at Canada Perforating in Fort Erie. “I coached a number of kids and even now I still work out. I am working out at the Academix Academy in Fort Erie twice a week with those guys. They have been good enough to let me come in and throw some punches with them. Thirty years later, it still feels pretty good.”
He is thrilled to be named a boxing legend.
“I know all these guys who have been recognized in the past and it is definitely an honour to be named with them.”
Even more special is that he is being inducted with his father, John, a former coach at the Niagara Falls Boxing Club.
“My dad carried on after I left the sport and he was pretty critical in the success of a lot of other fighters who are on the wall.”
Shawn started boxing when he was 12.
“Like any other kid, I started getting into trouble and I started looking for that thing. I tried a couple of teams sports and it wasn’t really for me,” he said. “My dad played played ball with Rick Fortuna and he took me to the gym one day in Grade 7 and it just took off from there.”
It was love at first punch.
“It was immediate and I believe I competed my first year,” he said. “It is all on you. You don’t have to worry about whether you are getting played or not, or the quality of your teammates. Any fighter will say the same thing that you are responsible for yourself and your own performance.”
Conlon ended up being a four-time provincial champion and a three-time bronze medalist at the national championships. He went to nationals twice as a junior boxer and once as an intermediate.
A highlight was being named the top boxer at the provincial intermediate championships in Kingston.
“It was George Chuvalo who presented me with the trophy and there is a big trophy somewhere with my name on it,” he said. “There were some pretty prestigious names on there and that is obviously a highlight.”
Another highlight was competing at the national championships in Whitehorse, Yukon.
“It was such a neat trip that you would never get the opportunity to visit otherwise. Nationals in St. John’s Newfoundland was my last one and I have some family there so it was nice to travel there too.”
He admitted it was tough to step away from the sport when he was offered an apprenticeship.
“Everyone has to make a decision whether they carry on and try to be an Olympic contender. At some point, you have to make a career choice and at that time it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I am still working in the same field so it was a good choice for myself.”
The March 25 card is expected to be a crowd pleaser.
Among the 12 bouts scheduled 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.
