2005 Nationals were very sweet indeed for Ottawa’s Beaver Boxing Club as two female fighters won medals – Isabelle Perreault picked up a bronze in the 66 kg class while team mate Jill Perry struck gold in the 57 kg class.

Focus on Isabelle Perreault

A former kickboxer and now a competitive member of the Beaver Boxing Club, 30 year-old Isabelle Perreault says she’s never been happier with the “sweet science”. “I really love boxing,” she says enthusiastically. “The sport has given me fitness, discipline, a strong focus and lots of new friends. Frankly,” she adds, “I couldn’t really imagine my life without it.”

But as much as Perreault loves the training, the obvious health benefits and the camaraderie, it’s the competitions that really turn this local fighter’s crank and help motivate her through all those long hours in the gym. “Inside, I’m a very competitive person,” explains Perreault. “And I always need something to shoot for ... something to keep me going.” And so far this goal-oriented approach has led her to an impressive amateur record of 10 and 4, and most recently earned her a bronze medal at the National Championships in St. Hyacinthe (Jan. 22-23/05).

Competing in the 66 kg class and one of the less experienced fighters in her division, Perreault admits that just qualifying for Nationals was a huge thrill as well as a great learning experience. “I’ve only been involved in boxing for a few years,” she explains and still have a lot to learn, but being a part of this tournament gave me a boost of confidence and even more to aim for in the future.”

Despite his fighter coming up a little short at Nationals, head coach Joey Sandulo is nevertheless very proud of Perreault’s efforts as well as her bronze medal. “She didn’t fight her best fight,” explains Sandulo. “But that’s okay, it was her first experience at such a high-level tournament and besides,” he adds. “A bronze medal is nothing to sneeze at.”

Focus on Jill Perry

Ever wondered what gold tastes like? Just ask Jill Perry, the 2005 amateur women’s boxing champion. Representing Ottawa’s Beaver Boxing Club this lightweight dynamo has come a long way in her relatively short career, fought the best in the country and now sits comfortably above all others at 57 kg. “It’s a great feeling,” beams Perry. “After so much hard work and sacrifice ... it’s really hard to find the right words,” she adds. “I guess I’m just very happy.” And so is her coach, Joey Sandulo, who has nothing but praise for his star performer. “She’s very dedicated, works hard every day, doesn’t cut any corners and takes her pre-fight preparation very seriously,” explains Sandulo. “I’m really proud of her.”

When asked about the road to a National title, Perry explains how it actually started at last year’s championship (Jan./04) when she lost a very close decision to eventual gold medallist Debbie Richards. “I took the fight as an alternate on only one day’s notice,” explains Perry. “And despite the lack of preparation I was still actually leading on points after 2 rounds.” Richards, a strong finisher, came back in round 3 to steal the fight and Perry’s dream of a medal, but that didn’t faze this fiery little fighter as she was determined to work harder and come back even stronger the following year. “Sure it was disappointing,” she admits. “But look how close I came, and on such short notice. I mean you have to take something positive out of an experience like that,” she adds. “And from that moment I knew I’d be back.”

And Perry was as good as her word as she stayed busy during the months that followed, eventually earning herself a re-match with Richards in September 04. “I was in shape and ready,” she explains. “But unfortunately made some tactical errors and once again came up a little short.” This time on the losing end of a close split decision, Perry promised herself that she would never lose to Richards again. Now if this was a Hollywood movie script Perry would have met her nemesis once again at Nationals, defeated her and lived happily ever after. But this isn’t Hollywood ... it’s real life, and unfortunately things often don’t work out so eloquently, and while Perry was certainly ready, willing and able, Richards had to decline a trip to this year’s Nationals due to personal reasons.

So Perry laced up her gloves anyway, went to work and went through Isabelle Matthieu and then Sandra Bizier instead, to win her first national title. And it wasn’t an easy road either, as Perry had to come from behind to defeat Matthieu (30-25) in the semi-finals and then work very hard against a taller, rangier opponent in Bizier (33-27) in the final. “She (Bizier) was boxing really well in the opening round,” recalls Perry. “But then I caught her between jabs with a hard counter right and it hurt her. I immediately sensed that she was vulnerable to that particular punch,” adds Perry. “And like any good thing, I just stuck with it.” And as the fight progressed, Perry slowly took away Bizier’s jab and forced her opponent to fight. “There were lots of big exchanges in rounds 2 and 3,” remembers Perry. “And I’m sure they were hard to score, but when I heard my corner and then my name announced as the winner, I was ecstatic – what a day.”

On a more sombre note Perry, now 38 years old, finds herself in a rather unusual position. As our current champion she naturally qualifies for a spot on the national team and the opportunity to represent her country on the world stage. But unfortunately for Perry the upper age limit for international competition is 34 – it will be interesting to see how Boxing Canada handles this one.