The sport of boxing has been practised in Canada since before Canadian Confederation in 1867. Boxing was illegal in Canada during the bare-knuckle era but fights took place in remote areas and the last of them was in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1901.
Tommy Burns from Normanby Township near Hanover, Ontario, was the first Canadian to win the world heavyweight title, becoming the champion in 1906 and defending the title thirteen times until he was defeated via Referee's decision by Jack Johnson on Boxing Day December 26, 1908 at Rushcutters Bay, Sydney NSW Australia.[1] On May 10, 2014, Bermane Stiverne won the vacant WBC World Heavyweight Championship after a sixth-round knockout of Chris Arreola.[2]
There is currently a debate in Canadian boxing circles regarding the oldest active professional championship sanctioning body. The National Championship of Canada (NCC) claims to be the legitimate continuation of the Canadian Boxing Federation (CBF) title, which was dissolved to avoid any conflict with the organization's goals regarding safety and regulation. The CBF title dates back to 1925. The Canadian Professional Boxing Council (CPBC) also claims to be the oldest active sanctioning body in Canada, tracing its history back to 1976. The CPBC rejects the NCC's claim to the CBF's history. As of 2016, the CPBC is the more active of the two bodies, while a certain degree of prestige continues to surround the NCC title thanks to champions like Brandon Cook, Sylvera Louis, and Dillon Carman.
Boxing Canada is the national governing body for the sport of boxing in Canada recognized by the Canadian Olympic Committee.[3]
| Boxer | Notes |
|---|---|
| Trevor Berbick | held the Canadian heavyweight championship for much of the 1980s and briefly held the WBC heavyweight championship in 1986 before losing the belt to a young Mike Tyson; he was also the last man to fight Muhammad Ali, winning a 10-round unanimous decision |
| Adam Braidwood | Current WBU Heavyweight Champion |
| Lou Brouillard | held the world welterweight title and a version of the world middleweight title in the early 1930s; BoxRec ranks him as the 14th best middleweight of all-time and the 3rd best Canadian boxer ever |
| Tommy Burns | the first Canadian to win the world heavyweight title; famously would fight anyone of any race or ethnicity |
| George Chuvalo | top-rank heavyweight fighter in the 1950s to 1970s with a legendary chin, having never been knocked down or knocked out in 93 pro fights against other boxing greats such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and George Foreman; also a five-time Canadian heavyweight champion and participant in Ring Magazine's "Fight of the Year" in 1965 against Floyd Patterson |
| Johnny Coulon | Held the bantamweight boxing championship of the world from 1910 to 1914 |
| Jack Delaney | held light heavyweight boxing championship of the world in the 1920s and was a contender for the heavyweight title |
| George Dixon | the first black world boxing champion in any weight class, while also being the first ever Canadian-born boxing champion; considered the #1 Featherweight of all-time by Ring Magazine founder Nat Fleischer |
| David Downey | is in the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame and the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame |
| Joe Eng | first Chinese-Canadian boxer who hailed from Vancouver in the early 1930s and fought 18 times losing only three decisions. |
| Al Ford | Former CBF Lightweight Champion and is in the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame |
| Ryan Ford | Former UBO World Light Heavyweight Champion, WBC International Silver Light Heavyweight Champion and son of retired boxer Al Ford |
| Arturo Gatti | top-rank featherweight, lightweight, and welterweight fighter from the 1990s to 2000s who became famous for his trilogy against Micky Ward, held multiple championships from the IBF & WBC, and participated in Ring Magazine's "Fight of the Year" a total of four times (1997, 1998, 2002, and 2003) |
| Sam Langford | considered one of the greatest punchers of all time, he won the World Colored Heavyweight Championship a record five-times; BoxRec ranks him as the 4th greatest heavyweight of all-time, the 9th greatest pound-for-pound fighter of all-time and the greatest Canadian boxer of all-time |
| Lennox Lewis | represented Canada at the 1986 Commonwealth Games and 1987 Pan American Games winning a Gold and Silver medal, respectively, both in the super heavyweight category; went on to win Gold for Canada in the 1988 Summer Olympics, defeating future heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe in the finals; later turned professional and became the undisputed world heavyweight champion (WBC/IBF/WBA/IBO/The Ring) in the late 1990s; he is also the only man to score a TKO against former champion Vitali Klitschko |
| Jimmy McLarnin | a two-time welterweight world champion in the 1930s; participated in Ring Magazine's "Fight of the Year" in 1934 |
| Jean Pascal | Former lineal, The Ring and WBC light-heavyweight champion with notable victories over Chad Dawson, Adrian Diaconu and Lucian Bute. Pascal has fought champions Carl Froch and Bernard Hopkins (twice). Represented Canada at the 2004 Athens Olympics. |
| Donovan Ruddock | promising heavyweight in the 1980s & 1990s who held both the WBA Inter-Continental & Canadian heavyweight titles; well known for his battles with Mike Tyson who he fought twice in 1991 |
| Adonis Stevenson | Current WBC and The Ring light heavyweight champion; won a Silver medal for Canada in the 2006 Commonwealth Games |
| Bermane Stiverne | Most recent former WBC heavyweight champion (2014-2015) |
| Samuel Vargas | Current WBA-NABA Welterweight Champion and former NCC Welterweight Champion |