Today we’d like to introduce you to Steven Canton.
Steven, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
SJC Boxing began originally in Cincinnati, Ohio in March 1969 and moved to Fort Myers, Florida in March 1989. It is the oldest continuously open by one owner boxing gym in the world. In 1992 we became a 501(c)3 organization and a registered club in USA Boxing. We have maintained throughout these years through our own promotions, participation in USA Boxing Events and regularly scheduled “Open Houses.”
Five years ago, we started a mentorship program in partnership with the local school board, where we take students with difficulties to the gym in the afternoon and provide lunch, mentorship, gym training and a healthy snack. Those who cannot come at that time are invited to come during our evening training schedule and we provide those students’ families with free groceries, in partnership with the Midwest Food Bank. We started with one school and 3 students in the first year and now have 274 students from 60 area schools. We have had more than fifty high school graduates and 5 graduates from Technical Schools.
Each year we have an annual Thanksgiving Day dinner where we provide a complete dinner, beverages and desserts, at no charge. Last year we had 61 people for Thanksgiving Dinner, including the Mayor of Fort Myers. The Florida Boxing Hall of Fame Museum is located in the same building as the gym and frequently hall of famers who come to visit the museum work with our athletes, providing great inspiration to them. We also have an annual Gala Dinner where kids are honored by the city and our sponsors.
A documentary film was produced by John Biffar, a nine-time Grammy Award Winner, about our program. It is called “Worth the Fight. It profiles kids who came to the gym with severe problems and through hard work and sacrifice, overcame their problems. The film won the Fort Myers Film Festival Best Documentary and Audience Favorite and the prestigious Milan, Italy Film Festival. It is now screening on several platforms, including Amazon Prime and Apple TV, and was accepted for consideration for the Academy Awards.
Our mission is to build character and teach responsibility to youth through amateur boxing, under USA Boxing’s guidelines. We teach respect, dedication, consideration, and teamwork to help young people succeed in life. We participate in USA Boxing events and make sure everyone is properly registered and certified.
We help deal with hunger with our ongoing pantry, we provide tutoring and mentoring for students who have learning disabilities, we provide an outlet for youth who might otherwise be tempted to a life of crime. We have provided a place for community service and have worked closely with the local law enforcement agencies for over thirty years. We have been honored by the City of Fort Myers several times including “SJC Boxing Day’s.” We have worked closely with our baseball spring training clubs, the Boston Red Sox and Minnesota Twins, with joint promotions and events, honoring and working with the kids.
SJC Boxing promoted the first Internet Broadcast of an entire Boxing Event in the world, the first Boxing Event in a Casino in Florida and the first Pay-Per-View Event in the Caribbean. Our 16′ boxing ring (in the attached picture) is the oldest boxing ring still in use in the world, dating back to the 1930’s. We have trained more than 14 professional world champions and numerous amateur champions.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Our ongoing obstacle is always raising money to ensure that our programs can continue.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
STEVEN J. CANTON–Matchmaker, Manager, Trainer, Cutman.
Steven J. Canton has been involved in every aspect of boxing for over 68 years. He started boxing in the Police Boy’s Club at age 11 in New York City and traveled the world thanks to the Sweet Science and has made friends wherever he has gone.
Not only did Steve have a very successful amateur and professional career but he became an ardent boxing enthusiast in the process.
He has promoted and been a matchmaker of fights all over the world. He has worked as a ring announcer, television commentator, judge, referee, and timekeeper. He co-hosted a popular Las Vegas based boxing radio talk show with James “Smitty” Smith for seven years. He wrote a monthly Florida column for Flash/Update for many years. He has had numerous articles published in The International Boxing Digest, Boxing World, and many major web sites.
He is a world-class cutman and trainer and has worked with some of the best fighters, trainers, managers, matchmakers and promoters in the world. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame as a Trainer/Manager, on June 27, 2009, and now serves as the President.
Canton started the SJC Boxing Club, Inc. in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1969 and moved it to Austin, Texas before relocating to Fort Myers, Florida in 1989. He promoted shows every other month, featuring mostly out of state teams vs. Florida. Most of the shows were televised on local cable television. During a two-year period-of-time his gym produced 28 Florida State Gold Medalists, 6 Regional and 1 National Champion.
In addition to working in professional and amateur boxing he has promoted Toughman Contests with Art Dore and was a boxing consultant for the film “Tough Enough,” starring Dennis Quaid. Canton is well respected in the boxing community as a historian and is a voting member on the committee that elects new inductees for the International Boxing Hall of Fame, in both the modern and old-timer categories. He is also a proud member of the International Boxing Research Organization (IBRO), which consists of approximately 150 esteemed boxing historians world-wide. He was frequently called upon for developing fight plans and strategies by prominent fighters, managers, and trainers.
Canton promoted the first casino boxing in the State of Florida and the first broadcast of live boxing on the Internet, which was transmitted throughout the world. It was watched by over 250,000 people in 15 different countries and received writeups in International Boxing Digest, and other publications. He also promoted the first pay-per-view telecast of boxing in the Caribbean.
Canton established the SJC Mentoring Program in April 2021. Students come to the gym Monday through Friday from 12:30pm to 2:30pm and get lunch, mentoring, gym training and are sent home with a healthy snack. Students who are unavailable during the day can come in the evening during normal gym hours where they receive training, and their families are given groceries at no charge. We partnered with the Midwest Food Bank of Florida to make this possible. We originally started with 1 school and 3 students as a pilot and currently have 274 students from 60 different Lee County schools involved. More than 50 students have since graduated from High School, five from technical schools and more will be graduating in the next few months.
Canton is the author of the highly acclaimed book, “Steve Canton’s Tributes, Memories & Observations of the Sweet Science” and is currently working on another book.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sjcboxing.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100057390432217&sk=about
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sjcboxing
