Golden Gloves Provincial Championship draws more than 130 boxers to Windsor

Provincial boxing tournament in Windsor Neil Mackenzie speaks to the benefits that hosting the 2024 Boxing Ontario Golden Gloves Provincial Championship has brought to the city of Windsor.

More than 130 boxers are in Windsor this weekend for one of the sport's most important tournaments.

The Golden Gloves Provincial Championships is an annual amateur boxing tournament, organized by Boxing Ontario.

The event serves as a pivotal platform for open-class boxers from across Ontario to compete for provincial titles and the opportunity to advance to the Canadian National Championships.

No longer considered "novice," a boxer who has more than ten amateur bouts under their belt must compete in the "open" class.

The tournament, which ran from Oct. 3 to 6, but the only one boxer representing the home city was Rosalind Canty of the Border City Boxing Club who was victorious in her bout.

"I was really stoked because, at first, I didn’t know if I would have a fight or not," said Canty.

"Initially, I had two opponents in my division, so it seemed like I would have a fight. Then, one girl pulled out, but thankfully, there was still one girl left so I still had a fight."

With her unanimous decision victory at the 2024 Golden Gloves Provincial Championships, Canty has now qualified for the 2024 Boxing Canada National Championships starting Oct. 19 — conveniently taking place not far from her home.

"The Nationals will be in Sarnia, which is really close, so everything’s super exciting right now," she said. "I've fought at the Nationals twice already. I'm currently second in Canada at 119 pounds. But this year, I moved up to 125 pounds."

A total of 136 boxers from 48 clubs competed across 107 fights.

The tournament was brought to Windsor after the owner of host site Central Park Athletics, Leigh Ann King, filed an application.

"She worked closely with Boxing Ontario to meet all the criteria and make this event happen. Without her, this event wouldn’t be a reality," said Central Park Athletics consultant Neil MacKenzie.

"Her vision goes beyond just this event, and I think we’ll see more events — boxing and other sports — happening here in the future."

MacKenzie added that a tournament of this stature has put a lot of eyes from the boxing world on the City of Windsor.

"Being on an international border, we have exposure to people from Detroit and further, into Ohio and Illinois, who are watching at the national level – they’re keeping an eye on who’s coming up and who might make it to the national team someday," said MacKenzie.

A number of ex-boxers, including some who competed in the Olympics or internationally, were in attendance for the four-day tournament.

"So, it’s a big deal for everyone. Plus, it’s great for Windsor-Essex. It’s bringing in tourism, filling hotel rooms and boosting the local economy."