Tony Luis

While Montreal and the province of Quebec are presently the hotspot of Canadian boxing, other provinces can also claim talented up and coming boxers. One such case is jr Welterweight Tony Luis (13-0, 5 KOs) fighting out of Cornwall, Ontario. Articulate and congenial, Luis will tell you that being a boxer was always his ambition since his early childhood. “When I was 7 or 8, I used to stand in front of mirrors and mimic the boxers I would see on TV,” he remembers. In his last fight, the 23-year-old Cornwall native took a big step forward by winning the WBC 140lb Continental Americas title with a stoppage of Mexico’s Alejandro Barrera (21-. Having crashed into the top 30 of the WBC rankings, young Tony is now looking forward to further his progress in 2012.

Luis was an amateur star in his native Ontario, winning 6 Ontario titles and earning a spot on the Canadian national team. He reached the finals of the qualifying round for the 2008 Beijing Olympics but lost a controversial decision that dashed his Olympic dreams. Not making it for Beijing prompted him to turn pro in May of 2008 a decision over David Aguirre.

With father Jorge as head trainer, Tony has been steadily progressing, beating boxers with positive records such as (Adrian Verdugo 14-1, veteran Aldo Valtierra 25-12, and Adrian Valdez 19-7). In only his sixth fight, Tony won the Quebec lightweight title by stopping Jorge Barros.

“It was my first title and my first knockout victory. So, for me, it was a landmark,” says Luis. Veteran Canadian trainer and boxing analyst Russ Anber had this to say about Tony: “His assets are great hand speed, a great work rate, throwing punches in bunches, plus he’s an excellent body puncher. He may not have one punch knockout power but he will wear down his opponent.” Punching power is one aspect Luis feels he has greatly improved. “My five knockouts wins have been in my last eight fights.”

A promotional free agent, Luis is managed by father Jorge and has experienced Matt Yanofsky as an advisor. Says Yanofsky, “In 2012, we would like Tony to crash into the top 10 or 15 ranking. We are also hoping for big TV exposure and, why not? Maybe a fight in the USA. We would love to have the US boxing audience see this talented young man in action.”