Maisonneuve eyes pro ranks
Dylan Maisonneuve returned from the Boxing Ontario provincial championships in Brampton with a bronze medal around his neck.
The St. Catharines Boxing Club member won by decision in the quarter-finals over Justin Aguilar of LFG Fitness and Athletic Performance and then lost by decision in the semifinals to talented Kuwardeep Manu of King of the Ring.
“The first fight was good. I came out and outboxed the guy and I beat him in all the rounds,” the 22-year-old St. Catharines resident said. “The second fight, I went out and lost the first round, won the second round and third round it was a nice match and it could have gone either way.”
It was more invaluable experience for Maisonneuve, who won the 75-kilogram provincial elite crown in his first attempt and then lost in the first round last year.
“I learned that I have to pick it up a bit more and don’t leave it in the hands of the judges.”
The four-time winner of the Brampton Cup, including in 2023, and a former Golden Gloves champion is taking boxing a lot more seriously lately.
“I am not going out any more and I am focusing on training, lifting more weights now and staying out of trouble. I don’t go out drinking and all that kind of stuff,” said Maisonneuve, who started boxing when he was in Grade 6 and then took a year or two off to focus on school and other sports.
Staying away from partying is not an easy task.
“I’m of an age where all the boys want to go out to the pubs and party but that’s when you have to have discipline and say, ‘Sorry guys. I can’t go out tonight.’ You want to go out and have the fun but in boxing you have to make the decision either you want it or you don’t. You can’t half-ass boxing.”
Maisonneuve has a fight scheduled for Dec. 2 in Buffalo and then he plans to do a few more amateur fights and possibly turn pro.
“I think my game suits the pros and they got rid of my weight in nationals this year.”
The Olympics is no longer contesting a 75-kilogram male division and Boxing Canada has followed suit this year at nationals because it is an Olympic year.
“I don’t want to kill myself to go down 10 pounds so the pro route is probably going to be my best option,” Maisonneuve said.
In the meantime, he will continue to work on improving as a boxer.
“I am going to keep training hard, take it one day at a time and listen to the advice of my coaches.”
Also competing for the St. Catharines Boxing Club at provincials was Mark Ryan in the 57-kilogram novice B division. He stopped George Bond of Waterloo Regional in the third round of his first fight and lost by decision to Sidhak Dosanjh of King of the Ring in his second bout.
