Skip to content

Robitaille fights his way to gold at Bronze Gloves

Capturing a gold medal at the 2014 Ontario Bronze Gloves championships in Toronto was not part of the plan for André Robitaille. At least, not initially.
120514_boxing_gloves
A six-bout card at the Top Glove Boxing Academy provided plenty of entertainment for a packed house, and an even mix of official bouts and exhibition fights, with some athletes fighting out of their weight class to accommodate a relatively small number of opponents in the north.
Capturing a gold medal at the 2014 Ontario Bronze Gloves championships in Toronto was not part of the plan for André Robitaille.

At least, not initially.

The 35-year-old native of Wawa started down his path with boxing, some two years ago, with far more modest and much less competitive goals.

"I wanted to get into better shape, and quit smoking," he said recently. "The more it went on, the more I liked it. The better I got, the more fun it became."

While Robitaille could draw on a lifetime of physical work, his organized sporting involvement was limited. Still, popular culture allowed for at least some notion of what might be involved as he donned the gloves for the very first time.

"As a kid, you watch the 'Rocky' movies, and I think that boxing is always something that has intrigued people," he said. "I had the time (to train), and it was a sport that I was interested in."

Taking the next step, growing from training sessions to bout-ready status, that's a whole other jump altogether. It would be more than a year after attending his first afternoon workout at the Top Glove Boxing Academy before Robitaille, and more importantly coach Gord Apolloni, felt prepared enough to tackle his first opponent.

"That first fight was nerve-wracking," laughed Robitaille. "You want to last the whole three rounds, as opposed to just going in there and swinging as hard as you can. That might work to a certain point, but eventually, it's not going to work. It's not like a scrap."

By the time the Bronze Gloves rolled around in November, Robitaille would have five bouts to his credit. Not an elaborate boxing resume, but enough to have provided the 64kg-69kg competitor with a touch more confidence.

"I am way more comfortable stepping in the ring now than when I started, my cardio is much better," said Robitaille. "I feel more loose and relaxed in the ring, as opposed to being all stiff."

Kicking things off with a 3-0 decision over Ryan Jones of the Atlas Boxing & Fitness Club in Toronto, the Northern Ontario fighter could sense something different.

"I had a plan of what I wanted to do in the ring, what kind of fight I wanted to fight," he explained. "Before the end of the first round, in all three fights, I knew that I could beat them, and I knew what I had to do to beat them. That's the first time that's happened.

A 2-1 decision over Dan Roach of C.J. Boxing in Mississauga capped off a busy weekend, perhaps a touch busier than he originally imagined.

"It never really clicked on me that it was the Bronze Gloves when Gord first asked me," said Robitaille. "I think if he had told me that I would have three fights in three days, I might not have gone.

"I didn't think I was going to win the tournament, that's for sure."

With that challenge overcome, Robitaille looks ahead, knowing that improvement is needed in order for the victories to continue.

"It's given me a better idea of what I need to work on," he said. "I need to be a little more stable in my fighting, and keeping my head up a little bit more."

Given how far he has come, in such a short time, André Robitaille should have little trouble walking with his head up.

Comments

Verified reader

If you would like to apply to become a verified commenter, please fill out this form.