Live boxing returns to St. Catharines Dec. 17
Live boxing is back in Niagara after a lengthy pandemic pause.
The St. Catharines Boxing Club will be hosting The Sixth Annual Murphy’s Gloves and 2021 Fight for the Kids Christmas Show Friday, Dec. 17 at the Merritton Community Centre with doors opening a 6:30 p.m. and fights beginning at 7:30 p.m.
The last amateur fight card in Niagara was held in March 2020.
“It is awesome. It gives the kids something to train for,” boxing coach Joe Corrigan said. “It’s one thing to come in and punch the bag and spar and it’s another thing to actually compete where your friends and family can come and see you.”
The stage was set to have the card in Niagara after Boxing Ontario staged a successful Return to Competition Test Event Oct. 16 event at the Toronto Don Valley Hotel and Suites. It was the first amateur combat sport event to be staged in Ontario since the COVID-19 pandemic arrived.
“They did it there to see how things would go,” Corrigan said. “Everything went well and that opened it up to have other cards.”
All the boxers, coaches and spectators have to be double-vaccinated to attend the Dec. 17 event and the club is only allowed half capacity at the Merritton Community Centre.
No tickets will be sold at the door and all those in attendance must show their vaccine passport. The $20 tickets are available at the St. Catharines Boxing Club (50 Niagara St.) or from club members.
Organizers are trying to get one boxer each from the other boxing clubs in the region on the card. One of the St. Catharines boxers on the show will be 28-year-old Dennis Steingart.
The Governor Simcoe alumnus started boxing when he was 18, had a couple of fights, took some time off for school and work and then returned to the sport when he was 23.
“I got on a roll and just fell in love with the sport,” Steingart said.
He ended up competing for a couple of years, won a novice title at the Ringside World Championships, and then work and life once again got in the way of his boxing obsession.
The Collins Aerospace employee hasn’t fought since 2018 and is looking forward to a return to the ring.
“I was gone but I never really left,” he said. “It was always in my head and I was always thinking about it and watching it. I just love it.”
Steingart had planned to return to the sport in 2020 but the COVID-19 pandemic put a halt to that idea.
“That was a big bummer because my work schedule had kind of settled down and it wasn’t such a new job any more.”
While he waited for things to return to normal, he hung a heavy bag in his garage and started working out. He now gets to put all that training to work Dec. 17.
“I am actually pretty stoked and I have the butterflies a little bit because it has been awhile,” he said. “It is going to be fun to be in a home show because I love that atmosphere.
“The Murphy’s Gloves is the best show to fight at because we get some big crowds. It’s pretty cool to think you are fighting in front of a whole stadium of people and everyone is so supportive because we have a good team here.”
Steingart feels he is close to being back in top form.
“I have been working on my cardio a ton and it took a little while but now I feel the ball is rolling,” he said. “It took me a couple of months to get back on my toes again.”
Steingart will enter the Dec. 17 fight card with a 16-4 record and he’s hoping it is the first step towards his quest of winning at the provincial senior championships.
“That’s the goal,” he said . “I am training hard for the show but it is just a warmup to get me ready for the provincials.”
He is looking forward to his return to the ring.
“I want to compete, I want to see where I am at in a new (weight) division. With everyone being off for so long, you don’t know who you are up against.”
For more information about tickets, VIP tables or sponsorship for the show, call 905-988-1244 or email j.corrigan@hotmail.com
