William Irwin (born May 20, 1968,

Niagara Falls, Ontario Niagara Falls is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is on the western bank of the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario, with a population of 88,071 at the 2016 census. It is part of the St. Catharines - Niagara Census M ...

, nicknamed "Billy the Kid", is a retired

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight boxe ...

and

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

light Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 tera ...

/ light welter/

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify the ...

boxer Boxer most commonly refers to: * Boxer (boxing), a competitor in the sport of boxing *Boxer (dog), a breed of dog Boxer or boxers may also refer to: Animal kingdom * Boxer crab * Boxer shrimp, a small group of decapod crustaceans * Boxer snipe ee ...

of the 1990s and 2000s who as an amateur won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

in the Boxing at the

1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games were held in Havana, Cuba from August 2 to August 18, 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the Pan American Sports Organization, PASO community, with events in 33 different sports. The main stadium was ...

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, Cuba, losing to eventual

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

winner Patrice Brooks of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, represented Canada at the 1991 World Amateur Boxing Championships in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, Australia losing to

Julien Lorcy Julien Lorcy (born April 12, 1972) was a French professional boxer who held the WBA lightweight title twice. Amateur career Record: 65-4 (36 KO) *1990 French National Amateur Featherweight Champion *1991 French National Amateur Featherweight ...

of France. He represented

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

but was stopped in the second round of the

division (– 60 kg) by Ronald Chavez of the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. As a professional, he won the

Canadian Professional Boxing Council Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

,Canadian Professional Boxing Council website
Accessed November 23, 2022. lightweight title, Canada lightweight title,

International Boxing Organization The International Boxing Organization (IBO) is a US based corporation that sanctions professional boxing matches and awards world and regional championships. It is an independent and well-known organization not recognized by the "big four" gove ...

(IBO) lightweight title,

World Boxing Council The World Boxing Council (WBC) is an international professional boxing organization. It is among the four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), International Boxing Federation ...

(WBC) Continental Americas lightweight title, and Commonwealth lightweight title, and was a challenger for the

International Boxing Federation The International Boxing Federation (IBF) is one of four major organizations recognized by the International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF) which sanctions professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Association (WBA), World Boxing Counci ...

(IBF) lightweight title against

Paul Spadafora Paul Ross Spadafora (born September 5, 1975) is an American retired professional boxer. He is the former IBF lightweight champion of the world, and has challenged once for a light welterweight world title. Personal background Known as "The Pitt ...

, and

World Boxing Association The World Boxing Association (WBA), formerly known as the National Boxing Association (NBA), is the oldest and one of four major organizations which sanction professional boxing bouts, alongside the World Boxing Council (WBC), International Boxi ...

(WBA) World lightweight title against Juan Díaz, his professional fighting weight varied from , i.e.

to , i.e.

. Irwin's last stand was in 2005, up against the undefeated World Champion Juan Diaz. After losing to Diaz, Irwin walked away in class retiring from a very respectable pro boxing career that spanned over 12 years. He was a four time Canadian National Champion, a Bronze Medalist at the Pan-American Games, with an amateur record of 130-20-0 and with an impressive professional boxing record of 44 (31)–5-0. He now trains amateurs, upcoming international fighters and professional boxers in Niagara Falls, Ontario. One of his fighters won the 2012 Canadian Champion Best Youth Boxer Award.

References

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External links

* * * * * 1968 births Lightweight boxers Living people Boxers at the 1990 Commonwealth Games Boxers at the 1991 Pan American Games Boxers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic boxers of Canada Commonwealth Games competitors for Canada Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada Sportspeople from Niagara Falls, Ontario Canadian male boxers Pan American Games medalists in boxing Medalists at the 1991 Pan American Games {{Canada-boxing-bio-stub