BRIAN's BOXING STORY (1963 to 2013)
(Brian's boxing story: November 1974: Ian Weir, Mike Caird and Brian Zelley)
photo by Jim Ryan, for the "Victorian" with an article by Patty Pitts. concerning
the revival of amateur boxing in the capital city Victoria, British Columbia)
*copy provided by the Greater Victoria Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
THE EARLY YEARS: 1963 to 1968
*The story begins in September 1963 with the Nepper family of Nanaimo.
George Nepper decided to form a boxing club in 1963 and it was named
after the Newcastle Hotel as the NEWCASTLE BOXING CLUB.
Some of original boxers in the club were:
the Nepper brothers, Gilles, Roger, Jules, Leon and Rene.
and Brian Zelley, Leo Rock, Chris and Ted Ballatti.
(an early photo of active club members in January 1964"
the original photo was by the "Nanaimo Daily Free Press"
in preparation of the 1963/1964 boxing season.
(phote includes: Leo Rock, Chris Balatti, Gilles Nepper (back_
and in the front ** Leon Nepper, Roger Nepper and Brian Zelley)
Aside from George Nepper some of the other trainers and coaches
that took part in 1963 were Harry Pollitt, Skimp Willims and
the Seriani brothers: Frank and Abe.
The First Champions:
In 1964, four boxers from the Newcastle Boxing Club
would take part in the Vancouver Island Amateur
Boxing Championship. The tournament would be
hosted by the London Boxing Club in Victoria under
the direction of HARRY MORRIS and STAN RICHARDSON
The two to win titles were GILLES NEPPER and BRIAN ZELLEY.
*working my corner for that
champioship tournament was
ex-boxer SKIMP WILLIAMS and
Nanaimo boxer MIKE LAZARE.
And, the end of the tournament,
I had defeated two opponents
in the same night and also
earned a special award for
the "Most Aggressive Boxer"
Some of the other boxers in the tournament were:
Tommy Black, Fred Desrosiers, Mike Caird, Wayne Powell
and Rifleman Walsh.
The following year, boxers MIKE LAZARE and KEN STANT
would add to the list of championships by Nanaimo boxers
with victories in the BRONZE GLOVES and Lazare would
follow-up with a championship victory in the Emerald Gloves.
NANAIMO BOXING HISTORY:
*without repeating all of the stories of the Newcastle Boxing Club
and the follow-up club the Nanaimo Boxing Club, details can be
found in the following:
http://nanaimoboxing.blogspot.ca/
The above link will also look at the Nanaimo Boxing club shows:
BACK TO THE EARLY YEARS - 1966
This would prove to be an important year in my personal
boxing journey which would include some important bouts.
One of those bouts would be a fight in Victoria against
Canadian champion JIMMY MCMILLAN. It was a
good fight but it ended with a split decision by the
judges, but it proved I could go with the best boxers
in Canada. There were also two of interest in
Port Alberni which would serve as a tune-up for
future tournaments in 1967. The important one
was a bout against Vancouver Firefighters boxer
DEL DEUGAU which I not only won, but also
earned the special "Best Fighter" award.
(photo: 1966
training in early
1966 in prep for
the big fight with
DEL DEUGAU
in Port Alberni.
Boxers assisting me
in the training were
Ken Stant, Gilles
and Roger Nepper.
The Port Alberni club
members also came to
Nanaimo to train with
us on a number of times.
Two of the coaches for
the club were Jim Hills
and Sam May.
One of the boxers of the Port Alberni club was LEE GIBSON who
was later involved in Rick Hanson's "Man In Motion" world tour.
In another Port Alberni show, four of us Nanaimo boxers would
participate including Ken Stant, Brian Zelley, Murray Glover
and Ted "Spider" Balatti.
PROVINCIAL TOURNAMENTS 1967:
There were two important Centennial tournaments held
in Vancouver in 1967 including the Golden Gloves and
the Diamond Belt tournament.
The interesting think about the Diamond belt tournament was
Rocky Marciano was a guest referee. And, I still remember
the first two boxers that I met at the motel on the first night
were Ed Williams and Chester Douglas one thing we allhad in common
was knowing boxer Tony James who trained in Nanaimo.
My video story
Tournaments in 1968:
Tacoma Golden Gloves
Oregon Golden Gloves
BC Golden Gloves
Seattle Golden Gloves PNW AAU Championships.
* 1968Diamond Belt/BC Olympic Trials
The Vancouver Firefightets September 1967
I joined the Firefighters in 1967:
Nanaimo Boxing Club formed in September 1971
Founders Brian Zelley and Dan Wright
George Nepper decided to form a boxing club in 1963 and it was named
after the Newcastle Hotel as the NEWCASTLE BOXING CLUB.
Some of original boxers in the club were:
the Nepper brothers, Gilles, Roger, Jules, Leon and Rene.
and Brian Zelley, Leo Rock, Chris and Ted Ballatti.
the original photo was by the "Nanaimo Daily Free Press"
in preparation of the 1963/1964 boxing season.
(phote includes: Leo Rock, Chris Balatti, Gilles Nepper (back_
and in the front ** Leon Nepper, Roger Nepper and Brian Zelley)
Aside from George Nepper some of the other trainers and coaches
that took part in 1963 were Harry Pollitt, Skimp Willims and
the Seriani brothers: Frank and Abe.
The First Champions:
In 1964, four boxers from the Newcastle Boxing Club
would take part in the Vancouver Island Amateur
Boxing Championship. The tournament would be
hosted by the London Boxing Club in Victoria under
the direction of HARRY MORRIS and STAN RICHARDSON
The two to win titles were GILLES NEPPER and BRIAN ZELLEY.
champioship tournament was
ex-boxer SKIMP WILLIAMS and
Nanaimo boxer MIKE LAZARE.
And, the end of the tournament,
I had defeated two opponents
in the same night and also
earned a special award for
the "Most Aggressive Boxer"
Some of the other boxers in the tournament were:
Tommy Black, Fred Desrosiers, Mike Caird, Wayne Powell
and Rifleman Walsh.
The following year, boxers MIKE LAZARE and KEN STANT
would add to the list of championships by Nanaimo boxers
with victories in the BRONZE GLOVES and Lazare would
follow-up with a championship victory in the Emerald Gloves.
NANAIMO BOXING HISTORY:
*without repeating all of the stories of the Newcastle Boxing Club
and the follow-up club the Nanaimo Boxing Club, details can be
found in the following:
http://nanaimoboxing.blogspot.ca/
The above link will also look at the Nanaimo Boxing club shows:
BACK TO THE EARLY YEARS - 1966
This would prove to be an important year in my personal
boxing journey which would include some important bouts.
One of those bouts would be a fight in Victoria against
Canadian champion JIMMY MCMILLAN. It was a
good fight but it ended with a split decision by the
judges, but it proved I could go with the best boxers
in Canada. There were also two of interest in
Port Alberni which would serve as a tune-up for
future tournaments in 1967. The important one
was a bout against Vancouver Firefighters boxer
DEL DEUGAU which I not only won, but also
earned the special "Best Fighter" award.
training in early
1966 in prep for
the big fight with
DEL DEUGAU
in Port Alberni.
Boxers assisting me
in the training were
Ken Stant, Gilles
and Roger Nepper.
The Port Alberni club
members also came to
Nanaimo to train with
us on a number of times.
Two of the coaches for
the club were Jim Hills
One of the boxers of the Port Alberni club was LEE GIBSON who
was later involved in Rick Hanson's "Man In Motion" world tour.
In another Port Alberni show, four of us Nanaimo boxers would
participate including Ken Stant, Brian Zelley, Murray Glover
and Ted "Spider" Balatti.
PROVINCIAL TOURNAMENTS 1967:
There were two important Centennial tournaments held
in Vancouver in 1967 including the Golden Gloves and
the Diamond Belt tournament.
The interesting think about the Diamond belt tournament was
Rocky Marciano was a guest referee. And, I still remember
the first two boxers that I met at the motel on the first night
were Ed Williams and Chester Douglas one thing we allhad in common
was knowing boxer Tony James who trained in Nanaimo.
My video story
Tournaments in 1968:
Tacoma Golden Gloves
Oregon Golden Gloves
BC Golden Gloves
Seattle Golden Gloves PNW AAU Championships.
* 1968Diamond Belt/BC Olympic Trials
The Vancouver Firefightets September 1967
I joined the Firefighters in 1967:
Nanaimo Boxing Club formed in September 1971
Founders Brian Zelley and Dan Wright
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