Accident on Lundy's Lane By TONY RICCIUTO / Niagara Falls Review Updated 6 hours ago
Boxing coach Hank Boone, who was well known in Ontario boxing circles, died Tuesday following a motor vehicle accident on Lundy's Lane.
Brothers Billy and Michael Irwin had talked to Boone at his gym on Lundy's Lane about 10 minutes before the accident.
"He told me he wasn't feeling good, that he was on some kind of medication and that he was going home," said Billy "The Kid" Irwin, who visited the gym at about 6 p.m., with a group of other fighters.
"He didn't look that good. He said he was feeling a little wheezy and wanted to go home. Me and my brother were the last ones to talk with him."
Boone's City Boxing Club is located on Lundy's Lane, just above the Highland Tap Pub, a short distance from where the accident occurred.
"My brother asked him if he was OK to drive, he said 'yeah, yeah I'll be OK' and then he left," said Irwin.
About 10 minutes later, someone rushed into the gym asked for Irwin and informed him that Boone had just been involved in an accident and had died.
"My family knew his family for years, even before I got into boxing," said Irwin, who used to train under Pat Kelly and was once affiliated with the Shamrock Boxing Club.
Boone and Kelly were partners for a period of time, but then went their separate ways.
"I just couldn't believe it when I heard about it," said Irwin, who had never been to Boone's gym before and had gone there to work with some of the other fighters.
After getting the news everyone left the gym and Irwin ended up shutting the lights and locking up.
"It's just a shame. He had a lot of kids there that looked up to him and liked him and he worked well with them," said Irwin.
Niagara Regional Police report the accident took place at about 6:38 p.m., and involved two vehicles near the intersection of Lundy's Lane and Dorchester Rd. The driver of a 2006 Chrysler 300C was travelling westbound on Lundy's Lane, lost control of his vehicle and mounted the north curb, striking and knocking down a light pole.
The vehicle continued west towards the intersection at Dorchester Rd., where it crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic.
The driver of the other vehicle, a 45-year-old Niagara Falls man, was driving a 2009 GMC Acadia east on Lundy's Lane. The driver took evasive action and tried to avoid the collision, but was not successful. The two vehicles collided head-on, just west of the intersection.
The driver of the GMC was not injured.
Boxing coach Ron Gallen, who has been around the boxing ring for nearly 30 years and is with the Niagara Falls Boxing Club, said he was on his way home with his wife from their own gym when he noticed that police had blocked off Lundy's Lane because of an accident.
"I told my wife this doesn't look good because they only block the road off if someone has been killed," said Gallen, who wasn't able to get close enough to see the two vehicles that had been involved.
Later, Gallen received a phone call from Boone's brother-in-law who told him Hank had died.
Gallen had seen Boone "off and on" for the last few weeks and knew he had some medical problems.
"It still came as a shock when I heard about it," said Gallen, who is also the president of Boxing Ontario.
"I got started in boxing as an official and Sherry Boone, his wife, was the chief official of our region at that time. Niagara Falls is not that big and I knew Hank before getting into boxing."
Gallen said Boone got started with the Port Dalhousie boxing club many years ago and then branched off and started his own club, the St. Catharines Boxing Club. Later he was involved with the Shamrock Boxing Club in Niagara Falls before opening his own gym.
"He was very dedicated to the boxers that he had and the boxing community is going to miss him," said Gallen.
Mike Strange, Niagara Falls businessman and boxing legend with Commonwealth Games and Olympics experience, said that although he never fought for Boone, he did square off against some of his fighters.
"I remember that it seemed like he always turned boxers into southpaws," said Canada's boxer of the year for 1996. "Boxers don't like fighting southpaws, it changes the way that you have to carry yourself in the ring.
"It seemed like 99% of Hank's fighters were southpaws."
The Review was unable to contact Hank Boone's family for comment.
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