Hey folks, I was wondering if there was any Willie dewit fans from back in the day? I want to learn more of the Canadian heavy weight scene other than Lewis, Kirk Johnson, George chuvalo, etc. So apparently dude was a good heavyweight, he medalled in the Olympics if my memory is correct. He also had a fight vs Bert Cooper. When they talk about Canadian heavyweights he gets left out. Why is that? He was a good fighter.
Was hopeless once hurt, basically didn’t know what to do. Poor defence and chin issues. Was exposed when he stepped up.
He was a pretty good boxer but in hindsight whoever was managing him made a big mistake when they brought Bert Cooper in as an opponent. DeWit was 15-0-1 at the time, Cooper was 15-1. It was a good match-up on paper. Two young up-and-comers. DeWit was 25 years old, Cooper 21 years old. DeWit was bigger than Cooper, Cooper had weighed under 200 pounds for most of his previous fights. DwWit was a former Olympic silver medallist, and Cooper was more of a slugging type. Problem is, he slugged really hard. And he caught DeWit early on, and DeWit never recovered. DeWit was never considered much of a hopeful after that loss, and after 'avenging' his 1984 Olympic final defeat with a win over Henry Tillman in the pros in 1988, he retired and became a lawyer. A smart move.
DeWit's 4th pro fight was on the Hagler-Hearns undercard, against a fellow Canadian called Alex Williamson. Williamson was nothing special but he fancied the task and gave DeWit a test. DeWit was floored near the end of the 1st round and had to settle for a draw in the 6-rounder. Fight can be seen here : This content is protected I think it's safe to say DeWit has leaky defense and an average chin at best, by the standards of the pro ranks.
Turns out not only did Willie get out of boxing at the right time, with his senses intact and after avenging his controversial Olympic gold medal match loss to Henry Tillman, but he got on the right track after boxing. He worked at a concrete factory or some such in California for a while then returned to Canada, where a lawyer friend convinced him to go to college and pursue law. Not only did he become a lawyer, he rose to become the head of the Canadian bar association’s criminal law division, he is now a judge in Canada. Instead of losing or winning decisions, he’s handing them down. Ol’ deWit was a compact and powerful puncher — he won gold in the Commonwealth Games, silver at the Olympics and I think bronze at the World Championships as an amateur — but had the aforementioned defense and chin shortcomings. But everybody isn’t cut out to be a world champion. Willie has done pretty well for himself, far better than most former prizefighters.
Dewitt was a good amateur boxer but like many Canadians at the pro level, he just did not take a good punch, nor was he a powerful hitter. He did well after boxing, A top ten all time Canadian boxer? No but he is worthy of mention.
I’d assume he’s one of the top 10 Canadian amateur boxers of all time? Gold at Commonwealth Games, silver at the Olympics (and arguably deserved gold in final vs. Henry Tillman), I think bronze at the World Championships? Also helluva amateur KO rate.
