Scoring a knockout for the N.B. boxing scene
Published Thursday October 22nd, 2009
Dwayne Storey continues to give back to the sport in hopes of pro boxing answering the count.
Dwayne Storey was a two-time Eastern Canadian cruiserweight champion during professional boxing career that spanned 1993-2001, but he sometimes wonders what could've been.
The fact he only had 10 fights in nine years speaks volumes.
"It was a very slow moving train in terms of boxing promotion in Canada and especially at the time," said Storey, who had a 5-5 record. "There was a lot of stops and starts. There was never really any chance to pick up momentum back then.
"Promotions were hit and miss back then. You would train three months for a fight and then it would get cancelled. Then you may not have anything else come up for 18 months or two years. That whole era where I could've developed was stifled by a lack of opportunities."
These days, the 40-year-old Storey and his wife Karen are having an impact on New Brunswick's pro boxing scene through their company New Generation Productions. They will promote their third fight card in Moncton this year on Nov. 21 in the CEPS Building at Universite de Moncton.
They drew crowds of 1,230 in June and 1,923 in September. Make no mistake about it "" they're reviving pro boxing in Moncton following the sport's eight-year absence in the city.
They're staging elimination style tournaments in various weight classes in Moncton. The goal is to lure new people into pro boxing, develop some promising talent and build fan excitement around the province.
"What we're doing now, I wish this kind of an opportunity would've been around back when I was boxing," said Storey. "It would've opened up the door for myself and a lot of other New Brunswick fighters in that era who didn't really get a chance to get their career going.
"I enjoyed boxing when I was in the ring. I'm just as excited, maybe even moreso, about producing these opportunities for other fighters now."
Next month's card combines Phase III in The Next Great Heavyweight and Phase II in The Next Great Cruiserweight.
Four contenders remain alive in the heavyweight division. The matchups are Julien Collette of Bouctouche versus Jason Campbell of Woodstock and Warren Porter of Doaktown against Mark Peters of Elsipogtog. They get paid for each fight with an additional $5,000 going to the champion.
Six contenders remain in the hunt for the cruiserweight title. The matchups are Jesse Francis of Eel Ground versus Marshall Norrad of Boiestown, Chris Norrad of Boiestown against Travis Connors of Doaktown and Petitcodiac's Fred Mallery versus Denis Martin of Riviere Verte, near Edmundston.
The card will be rounded out by a non-tournament cruiserweight bout between Dale Simmonds of Riverview and Shawn Marchand of Hamilton. Both mixed martial arts fighters will be making their pro boxing debut.
Ticket outlets are the Manhattan Bar and Grill and Frank's Music in Moncton, CC's Lounge in Shediac, Joanne's Video and Musik in Bouctouche, Babin's Barber Shop in Richibucto, Joe's Kwik Way in Eel Ground, Fritou's Chicken in Blackville, the Doaktown Village Restaurant, McCloskey's General Store in Boiestown and Tony's Music in Fredericton.
Tickets are also available online (www.thenextgreatheavyweight.com) or by calling 961-4265. The prices are $675 for an eight-seat VIP table, $70 for ringside, $30 for general admission and $15 for students.
"Our goal out of these first four events is to develop a solid base of 1,500 fans," said Storey. "We know that with each event we're also going to lose fighters and when you lose fighters you lose the people who come to watch them.
"From a business perspective, we're basically trying to do two things at the same time. We're trying to develop exciting fighters who can become local stars and eventually national prospects. We're also trying to build an excited fan base. Like any sport, the fans respond to winners.
"We believe that by staging these tournaments where the cream does rise to the top we're going to provide the fans with what they want. We expect that we'll have two or three quality professional boxers in each weight division."
Storey points out that while it would be nice his goal isn't to increase attendance for each of the first few events.
"You can have shallow victories where you have a big crowd for one event because of one reason or another," he said. "Then for the next event the attendance goes way down. I'm trying to build something over time as opposed to having everything come down to one event.
"If we can build a fan base that's rock solid at 1,500, there's no end in sight. Maybe you have a big event where you get 3,000 people. Then maybe the next event isn't so big, but you don't drop down to 500. You drop back to 1,500 or a little more."
Storey is from Doaktown, but now lives in Moncton. His brother Dean is a former heavyweight fighter who trains boxers in the Miramichi and Fredericton areas for this pro boxing series.
"Boxing has always been a passion for me," said Storey. "When Dean and I were young we watched the big fights on television and then we both took up the sport. We grew up with boxing gloves and a heavy bag at home."
Long periods of time in between events was clearly a major problem for pro boxing in New Brunswick in the past. It hurt the development of fighters and it prevented the build up of fan momentum.
Storey plans to run seven or eight events per year in Moncton. By believes that staging tournaments in each weight class will allow fans to follow along and get to know the fighters.
"We have big plans," he said. "First, we need to develop some local prospects into national contenders. There's going to come a time when we'll be able to hold Canadian title fights in Moncton.
"It's going to be a big year for us in 2010. We're working on something that's similar to what we're doing now, but on a national level."
More Reviews
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
