World Champion Jennifer Ogg of London, Ont. among inductees in Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame

When Jennifer Ogg signed up an Ironman race in Cozumel, Mex., she had no idea that months later, she’d get the call to be inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame.

The retired officer with the London Police Service couldn’t attend the ceremony Saturday in Sarnia, Ont., but told CTV News she’s both sad and thrilled at the same time.

“I wish I could be there, but to have my name alongside guys like Troy Ross, it’s a definitely a huge honour and a celebration for those who helped me get there,” said Ogg.

Ogg is one of Canada’s all-time great female boxers.

She is a four-time national champion and finished her career with a 69-7 record, including 14-1 in international bouts.

Ogg became the first female boxer in Ontario to win a World Amateur Championship when she captured the title in 2002 in Antalya, Tur.

London boxer Jennifer Ogg celebrates a World Championship gold medal in 2002 in Antalya, Turkey (Source: Jennifer Ogg)

“When they announced to the team (in 2002), I wasn’t on the list at first which was devastating,” said Ogg.

“But Tom Hennessey (Bluewater Boxing Club President) contacted Boxing Canada and made a deal with them. He said if I didn’t medal, that he would foot the bill, but if I did medal, that they (Boxing Canada) would pay. I was accepted and I had five fights.”

Hennessey recalls he road to the World title.

“It was her will to win and her will to fight,” said Hennessey, who is a board member with Boxing Canada, was chair of the Boxing Canada elite and under-23 national championships in Sarnia.

“She broke her hand just before the championships but that didn’t hold her back. She trained with one hand. Once she healed, she went over there and had five bouts in six days and won the gold medal.”

Ogg was among a star-studded class of inductees.

She goes into the hall with seven former Olympians Jamie Pagendam, Raymond Downey, Howard Grant, Domenic Figliomeni, Egerton Marcus, Troy Ross and coach Colin MacPhail.

Ogg recalled how she discovered the sport.

“I was working one night, and I happened upon the All-Nations Boxing Club on Glebe Street,” said Ogg.

“Frank Rodriguez had a club and that’s how it all started.”

She would train there, then started working with Darryl Walker in St. Thomas, before moving to Bluewater Boxing in Sarnia.

“Jen was born and raised in the London area, but she came here to train,” said Hennessey.

“She would come down here at 5 a.m. and train and go to work in London and then come back at 5 p.m. and train. She did that all the way through to the World Championships. She is a rare breed of an individual that comes along every now and then.”

Ogg was also a top three finalist, alongside Catriona Le May Doan and Beckie Scott, for Canadian Female Athlete of the Year.

“When I won the gold (in 2002) it was it was amazing,” said Ogg, who is now the president of Boxing Ontario.

“We were rushed into drug testing, and I just wanted to get on the phone and call everybody. I remember calling mom and dad, and it was amazing. A lot of my friends met me at the airport when I went home, and it was the best moment of my life.”

Olympic cousins inducted

Among those in attendance for the ceremony were cousins Egerton Marcus and Troy Ross. Both of them were enshrined.

Cousins Troy Ross (left) and Egerton Marcus were inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024 in Sarnia, Ont. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

“When I started, I was training with my uncle, and Troy was my little cousin behind me,” said Marcus, a silver medalist in 1988 in Seoul, South Korea.

“He was one of the toughest ones because he had two brothers, and they were bigger than him. To be honoured like this and go into the hall of fame with him is amazing.”

Ross is a two-time Olympian and Commonwealth Games silver medalist.

Hall of Fame boxer Troy Ross signs a glove which was put up for auction (Brent Lale/CTV News London)

“This is a legacy,” said Ross.

“There are so many other fighters that paved the way for today. To be on a plaque with legends like Lennox Lewis, my cousin Egerton Marcus, guys that I’ve looked up to in the sport for so many years and trying to get to what they have done in the sport, and now being able to be inducted into the Canadian Boxing Hall of Fame, it’s just actually surreal.”

Ross is also known for acting in several movies.

He played opposite Russell Crowe in Cinderella Man in 2005, Resurrecting the Champ in 2007 with Samuel L. Jackson and in Phantom Punch in 2008.

“The good thing about acting is that we’re acting and it’s not real hard punches,” said Ross.

“There are punches being thrown and there’s punches being landed, but they’re nothing like what’s in the ring. Working with Russell Crowe, he is a great actor and just being able to work alongside him was amazing. He took us under his wing, and just being able to work with him and to see the other side of acting was amazing.”

The induction ceremony took place Saturday night between championship fights. The inductees called it a “full circle moment” as they were being honoured, the next generation of fighters were battling in the ring.

2024 Canadian Olympic Bronze Medallist Wyatt Sanford was in Sarnia, Ont. supporting the young boxers competing in the National Championships (Source: Brent Lale/CTV News London)

“it’s an important event because it’s a pathway and this is a new quadrennial,” said Hennessey.

“We just had the Olympics in Paris, and now the next Olympics are in L.A. in 2028. This is the start of all these kids. Canadian champions today, maybe Olympic champions in four years.”