William Theodore deWit, Q.C. (born June 13, 1961) is a Justice of the

Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta The Court of King's Bench of Alberta (abbreviated in citations as ABKB or Alta. K.B.) is the superior court of the Canadian province of Alberta. Until 2022, it was named Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta. The Court of Queen's Bench in Calgary wa ...

sitting in Calgary since 2017. Previously, he was a

criminal defence lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various ju ...

and a

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

. He represented Canada at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

and won a silver medal in the

heavyweight Heavyweight is a weight class in combat sports and professional wrestling. Boxing Professional Boxers who weigh over are considered heavyweights by 3 of the 4 major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the W ...

division. DeWit and teammate

Shawn O'Sullivan Shawn O'Sullivan (born May 9, 1962 in Toronto, Ontario) is a retired Canadian boxer who won gold at the World Amateur Championships in 1981 and the light middleweight silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He was inducted into Boxi ...

were heavily touted going into the Games, as both had won the world championship.

Early years

DeWit played football in high school and was an all-star quarterback. He was offered a scholarship to the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a Public university, public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexande ...

, but decided to quit football after he began learning how to box at a Grande Prairie health club which was run by a man named Jim Murrie. Impressed with his dedication and size, Murrie introduced deWit to Dr. Harry Snatic, a dentist and rancher who had been a youth boxing coach in Louisiana before moving his family in 1971 to Beaverlodge, a small town near Grande Prairie. He worked out with deWit three times a week, first in the health club, and then in the deWit's unheated garage where temperatures would often get to 10 or 20 degrees below zero.

Amateur boxing career

DeWit's first fight came at the Alberta provincial championships in March of 1979 in Medicine Hat. Snatic entered deWit in the light heavyweight intermediate novice division for boxers age 17 to 20 with less than 10 fights. DeWit knocked out his first opponent in 20 seconds which caused the coaches of the six other fighters in the division to pull their fighters. DeWit had won his first championship. Snatic then entered deWit in the

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

Golden Gloves championships where he fought 18-year-old Shane Anderson who was the western Canadian 178-pound champion and a veteran of about 40 fights. DeWit lost by decision, but he did beat Anderson in two of three return matches. In the last of those bouts, deWit knocked out Anderson, who never fought again. Snatic then took deWit to fight at the

Washington State Penitentiary Washington State Penitentiary (also called the Walla Walla State Penitentiary) is a Washington State Department of Corrections men's prison located in Walla Walla, Washington. With an operating capacity of 2,200, it is the second largest priso ...

where he knocked out his opponent in the opening minute of the first round. Afterwards in April 1982, Snatic decided to sell his ranch and moved to Calgary. deWit went with him in order to find sparring partners, and to train with a Ugandan exile named Mansoor Esmail, who was Calgary's top boxing coach, and was considered a physical conditioning genius. DeWit's first major victory came in Las Vegas in June 1982 when he knocked out Cuba's Pedro Cardenas to win his first North American title. Then he won gold at the Commonwealth Games, taking him a total of three minutes and 12 seconds to knock out three opponents. In March 1983 he defeated Alexander Yagubkin of the U.S.S.R. to win the world title. Then, in September 1983 he defended his North American title against highly touted Cuban Aurelio Toyo. Leading up to the 1984 Olympics, a benefit in Calgary featuring boxing fan

Ryan O'Neal Ryan O'Neal (born April 20, 1941) is an American actor and former boxer. He trained as an amateur boxer before beginning his career in acting in 1960. In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the ABC nighttime soap opera '' Peyton Place ...

and

Farrah Fawcett Farrah Leni Fawcett (born Ferrah Leni Fawcett; February 2, 1947 – June 25, 2009) was an American actress. A four-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee and six-time Golden Globe Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she played ...

raised $70,000 to finance DeWit's training. At this point Snatic began importing professional sparring partners from the United States.

1984 Olympics

At the

1984 Los Angeles Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the secon ...

deWit lost the gold medal match in the heavyweight division to

Henry Tillman Henry Durand Tillman (born August 1, 1960) is an American former professional boxer. Early life Tillman was born in Los Angeles, California. Amateur career Tillman twice defeated Mike Tyson as an amateur, winning both bouts via close decisions. ...

of the United States. Heading into the Olympic Games, deWit and fellow Canadian Shawn O'Sullivan were considered favorites, particularly by Canadian fans and the Canadian media. The Tillman-deWit gold medal final featured no decisive blows; however, deWit appeared to win the first two rounds against Tillman with productive work to Tillman's midsection, although Tillman clearly won the third round. Nevertheless, Tillman won by a 5-0 decision. Three of the five judges controversially scored every round for Tillman. The unanimous decision startled Howard Cosell who was calling the bout for ABC Sports. "Good Lord! How do you like that?" Cosell blurted when the decision was announced. During his post-fight interviews, Cosell informed both Tillman and deWit that he personally disagreed with the official verdict. Tillman had also won a controversial decision in his semifinal bout, as had deWit.

Olympic results

* 1st Round: bye * Round of 16: Defeated

Mohamed Bouchiche Mohamed Bouchiche ( ar, محمد بوشيش; born February 24, 1962 in Oran) is an Algerian former boxer who fought in the heavyweight division. He participated for two times at the olympic games 1980 and 1984. He won many national and internati ...

of Algeria by unanimous decision, 5–0 * Quarterfinal: Defeated

Dodovic Owiny Dodovic Owiny (born 8 May 1954) is a Ugandan boxer. He competed in the men's heavyweight event at the 1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an int ...

of Uganda by a first-round knockout * Semifinal: Defeated

Arnold Vanderlyde Arnold Petrus Maria Vanderlyde (born 24 January 1963) is a Dutch former amateur boxer, who participated in three Summer Olympics (1984, 1988 and 1992) and won three bronze medals in the heavyweight division (≤91 kg). He started boxing a ...

of the Netherlands by split decision, 3–2 * Final: Lost to

of the United States by unanimous decision, 0–5 (was awarded silver medal)

Professional boxing career

Tabbed early as a "Great White Hope," deWit turned professional immediately, persuaded in part by a contract offer reportedly worth $1 million and began to train out of Burnet, Texas. He then defeated Ken Lakusta to capture the Canadian heavyweight championship. A loss to Bert Cooper in 1987 was deWit's only career defeat, as he retired after six consecutive wins, the last of which being a unanimous decision victory over Henry Tillman.

Life after sport

After announcing his retirement from boxing he worked and was part owner in a concrete surfacing company in California, which he eventually left to return to Canada. A friend of his who was a judge, suggested he get an education and become a lawyer. DeWit returned to school and graduated from the University of Alberta in 1994 with a law degree. He was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

(Q.C.) in 2013 and is the former president of the Canadian Bar Association Criminal Law subsection. In 1995 deWit was inducted into the

Alberta Sports Hall of Fame The Alberta Sports Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and museum in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, dedicated to the preservation and history of sports within the province. It was created in 1957 by the Alberta Amateur Athletic Union (AAAU). The museum ...

. He also has a street named after him in

Grande Prairie Grande Prairie is a city in northwest Alberta, Canada within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) and Highway 40 (the Bighorn Highway), a ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest T ...

. In 2012, deWit made a cameo appearance in the Calgary-based ''Souls in Rhythm'' band's musical video ''Another Round'' (featuring hop-hop artist ''Transit''). In 2017, deWit was appointed as a Justice to the

. He sits in Calgary.

Professional boxing record

, - , style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 21 Wins (14 knockouts, 7 decisions), 1 Loss (1 knockout), 1 Draw''

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, UD , 10 , 29/03/1988 , align=left,

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anch ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Tony "The Kid" Morrison , UD , 10 , 20/02/1988 , align=left, Centre 200,

Sydney, Nova Scotia Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissol ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Scott Wheaton , UD , 10 , 13/12/1987 , align=left,

Calgary, Alberta Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Donnie Long , RTD , 4 , 03/10/1987 , align=left,

Grande Prairie, Alberta Grande Prairie is a city in northwest Alberta, Canada within the southern portion of an area known as Peace River Country. It is located at the intersection of Highway 43 (part of the CANAMEX Corridor) and Highway 40 (the Bighorn Highway), ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Ken Lakusta , KO , 5 , 24/08/1987 , align=left, Northlands Agricom,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Terry Mims , KO , 2 , 21/05/1987 , align=left, Arco Arena,

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, align=left, , - , Loss , , align=left,

Bert Cooper Bertram Cooper (January 10, 1966 – May 10, 2019), nicknamed Smokin' Bert Cooper, was an American professional boxer who competed between 1984 and 2012. He fought Evander Holyfield, George Foreman, Riddick Bowe, Michael Moorer, Chris Byrd, Ray M ...

, TKO , 2 , 14/02/1987 , align=left,

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city populatio ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Lorenzo Canady , TKO , 4 , 13/12/1986 , align=left,

Regina Agridome The Brandt Centre (formerly the Regina Agridome) is an indoor arena at REAL District in Regina, Saskatchewan. Built in 1977, it is the home arena for the WHL's Regina Pats. It is owned by the city of Regina and operated by the Regina Exhibitio ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Conroy Nelson , TKO , 4 , 10/11/1986 , align=left, Halifax Metro Centre,

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. Th ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Andrew Stokes , UD , 10 , 30/09/1986 , align=left,

Agridome The Brandt Centre (formerly the Regina Agridome) is an indoor arena at REAL District in Regina, Saskatchewan. Built in 1977, it is the home arena for the WHL's Regina Pats. It is owned by the city of Regina and operated by the Regina Exhibiti ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Ken Lakusta , UD , 12 , 14/06/1986 , align=left,

Northlands Coliseum Northlands Coliseum is a now-unused indoor arena located in Edmonton, Alberta, situated on the north side of Northlands. It was used for sports events and concerts, and was home to the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association (WHA) a ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Mike Acey , TKO , 3 , 03/05/1986 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Jeff "Blonde Bomber" Jordan , RTD , 4 , 20/03/1986 , align=left,

Stampede Corral The Stampede Corral was a multi-purpose venue (ice hockey, professional wrestling, rodeo, tennis) in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Located on the grounds of Stampede Park, the arena was completed in 1950 at a cost of C$1.25 million ($ million tod ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, George Graham , TKO , 2 , 03/02/1986 , align=left, Northlands Agricom,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Scott Wheaton , UD , 10 , 13/12/1985 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Otis Bates , KO , 3 , 03/10/1985 , align=left,

Austin, Texas Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Marion Bridges , TKO , 2 , 11/09/1985 , align=left,

Trump Plaza Hotel and Casino Trump Plaza was a hotel and casino on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, New Jersey, owned by Trump Entertainment Resorts. Designed by architect Alan Lapidus, it operated from May 15, 1984 until September 16, 2014. History The beginning The T ...

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020, the city had a population of 38,497.

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Earl Lewis , TKO , 3 , 11/07/1985 , align=left,

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Sterling Benjamin , UD , 6 , 05/06/1985 , align=left,

Resorts Casino Hotel Resorts Casino Hotel is a hotel and casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Resorts was the first casino hotel in Atlantic City, becoming the first legal casino outside of Nevada in the United States, when it opened on May 26, 1978. The resort com ...

, align=left, , - , Draw , , align=left, Alex Williamson , PTS , 6 , 15/04/1985 , align=left,

Caesars Palace Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The hotel is situated on the west side of the Las Vegas Strip between Bellagio and The Mirage. It is one of Las Vegas's largest and best known landmarks. Caesar ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Tony Pelu , KO , 2 , 05/03/1985 , align=left,

Dallas Convention Center Arena The Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center (KBHCCD) (formerly Dallas Convention Center) is a convention center in the Convention Center District of downtown Dallas, Texas. The "Dallas Memorial Auditorium" was a standalone multipurpose arena, de ...

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Inoke Katoa , TKO , 4 , 24/01/1985 , align=left,

Showboat Hotel and Casino The Showboat Hotel and Casino, known as the Castaways Hotel and Casino from 2000-2004, was a hotel and casino located at the north end of the Boulder Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. The hotel consisted of a 19 story tower containing 445 rooms, a ca ...

, align=left, , - , Win , , align=left, Walter E.M. Morris , TKO , 2 , 01/12/1984 , align=left,

, align=left,

References

External links

deWit's Calgary Law Firm

Willie deWit
at

The Canadian Encyclopedia ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'' (TCE; french: L'Encyclopédie canadienne) is the national encyclopedia of Canada, published online by the Toronto-based historical organization Historica Canada, with the support of Canadian Heritage. Available f ...

*
Canadian Olympic Committee
by Michael Katz
{{DEFAULTSORT:deWit, Willie 1961 births Living people Boxers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Heavyweight boxers Sportspeople from Alberta Olympic boxers of Canada Olympic silver medalists for Canada People from Kneehill County Lawyers in Alberta Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Boxers at the 1982 Commonwealth Games Olympic medalists in boxing Canadian male boxers Medalists at the 1984 Summer Olympics Commonwealth Games medallists in boxing Alberta Sports Hall of Fame inductees