Category
Athlete
Sport
Boxing
Hometown
Fredericton
Year Inducted
2024
athlete, black athlete
Louis Lawrence
HONOURED MEMBER
Biography
From very humble beginnings in Victoria Mills, the region of Fredericton now known as Lincoln, the late Louis Sterling Lawrence attained Canadian stardom as a formidable middleweight boxer. He began his amateur career with bouts in Moncton and Fredericton, including matches against his identical twin brother Lloyd. Lawrence then moved to Vancouver in the late 1940s. There, he won a Golden Gloves competition and later defeated Calgary’s Jimmy Nolan for the Western Canadian Middleweight title in 1952.Lawrence won the Canadian Middleweight Boxing crown in 1955 at Fredericton’s York Arena, where he defeated Coby McCluskey in a 12 round split decision in what was his last professional bout. He held the Canadian Middleweight Championship until 1958, winning 21 of 25 professional bouts overall, 15 by knockout. Lawrence was inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame in 1988. He died in Surrey, B.C. in 2013 at age 86.
Quick Facts
· As an amateur he won the Golden Gloves Competition in Vancouver as a middleweight.
· In 1950, he entered the boxing ring as a professional. In 1952, he won the Western Canada Middleweight title against Jimmy Nolan, then successfully defended in 1953 against Bill Brenner
· He fought 25 times, losing only four matches. Fifteen wins came by knockout.
· In 1955 he returned to Fredericton to win the title of Canadian Middleweight Champion and he held that title until 1958.
· Inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame in 1988.