DALE WALTERS, 1984 Olympic bronze medalist was one of many that attended the tournament that was revived
in Victoria in 1980. The previous tournament was in 1968. The 1985 version of the tournament also took place in
Victoria.
Former boxer and ring announcer DANNY MCDONALD introduced a select group at the beginning of the tournament
with DALE WALTERS being the lead-off VIP. Others that followed included JACK SNAITH (1973 Canadian Champion),
Former Island commossioner HOWARD CURLING, DON DORNICK, MIKE SARTORI, BRIAN ZELLEY, PAUL CALVE, DAN WRIGHT, IAN WEIR, HAROLD HANDLIN, GEORGE ARMSON (BCABA President), FRED FULLER and BERT LOWES.
At the end of the tournament the 1985 Diamond Belt tournament champions were Ron Ogden, Rick Albrechtsen, Jim Hunter, Russ Lyon, Dan West, Jordan Woods, Don Mayes, Shawn Elms, Mathis Hill, Alex Bankier and Al Harper
Diamond Boy was ALBRECHTSEN of Williams Lake with a victory over USA boxer Willy Davis.
Runner-up was AL HARPER from Port Kells club. In prelim action he defeated Tim Hunter
of Campbell River and in the finals earned a victory over Gerald Peters of Vernon.
The Best Bout was the ALEX BANKIER (Vancouver) vs TIM CESSFORD (Parksville).
In earlier action Bankier defeated Haroan Talman and Cessford defeated Eddie Lee.
However, it was boxer RON OGDEN that received top coverage in the "Times-Colonist"
with the headlines "OGDEN IN RING SHOCKER AT DIAMOND BELT MEET" (January 21, 1985).
Also in a special bout for a spot on the Zone 6 B C Winter Games team as reported by the "Times-Colonist":
"In a BC Games trial bout held in conjunction with the Diamond Belt competition, TRENT STOREY of Gold River earned a berth
on the Zone 6 team by defeating KEN JAY of Victoria when referee Brian Zelley stopped the bout late in the third round of
their Junior C flyweight bout.
Reprted in the "B C Amateur Boxing News" - February 1985 was information on other special bouts
that were includec with the preliminary bouts - boxers in special bouts were Paul Dodd,
Augustus Dos Reis, Alan Brown, Dan McCaskin, John Hunter, Gary Wood, Terry Dermott,
In evening action - Gary Serko and Todd Alain touched gloves and came out to perform in another special bout.
FAST FORWARD - 2011
1985 BC DIAMOND BOY Rick Albrechtsen is now involved as a
boxing coach with the Williams Lake Boxing Club.
He was named by pro boxer ROBERTO MCLELLAN aas one of
the coaches that helped prepare him
for a title winning bout against Alberta's ANTHONY LESSARD.
July 2014:
Recent News: Paul Calves, recognized at the
1985 Diamond Belt Championships recently
Passed away in Victoria.
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