Ricky Anderson of Halifax, Nova Scotia had a great boxing career spanning from 1974 to 1986. Anderson had an amateur record of 85 wins and 12 losses. His first success was becoming the Nova Scotia Fly Weight Champion in 1974. He followed that up with a silver medal at the Canada Games in Lethbridge in 1975.

He won the Canadian Olympic Trials in 1980, but did not compete due to the Canadian boycott that year. He won numerous gold medals at Canadian and International events. His professional record was 19 wins and two losses.

Anderson became Canadian Welterweight Champion after defeating Guerrero Chavez in 1985 and was rated 5th in North America. He lost his title to Donnie Poole in a title defence that same year. Anderson regained his welterweight title in 1986 defeating John Herbert. He successfully defended his belt in 1986 with a unanimous decision over Deni Seguion. Ricky Anderson retired in 1986 due to knee injuries.

Annual Program Induction Article 

By Steve Bezanson 

They used to say he had the fastest hands in the east, in fact, maybe the quickest dukes in North America.

Without a doubt, Rickey Anderson was one of the finest boxing talents to ever come out of Nova Scotia. But the lingering question remains. Just how good could he have been had he not been forced to retire prematurely because of an injury to his left knee?

“Professionally, I don’t really have any regrets,” said Anderson, who hung up his gloves at 26 years of age. “Certainly I was devastated, no question about it, because boxing was my love and I still enjoy it today. But my big regret is not going to the olympics in 1980. I had pursued that dream for a long time. I had the support of the Canadian boxing team, my family, the community, and the university I was going to at the time.”

“But we learned in February of that year that we would not go to Moscow. A couple of months later I was a the Acropolis Cop Tournament in Athens and won a gold metal. I remember some reporters chasing me down and asking me about the boycott. I told them I thought it was a sad situation but that we had to go in. it was kind of tough because I really thought I could win a medal. And looking back 20-to-25 years later it was a missed opportunity and one that won’t come around again.”

“If you win a medal in the Olympic Games, be it gold, silver or bronze, your whole life could be totally different. Not to say that my life hasn’t been great, but looking back and what could have been is sometimes what goes through my mind.”

Married to Effie, a native of Stephenville, Nfld., for the past 15 years, and the father of two sons (Torres, 12, and Shay, 8), Anderson doesn’t have much time to think about “what could have been” anymore. “When one door shuts another usually opens. In my case, one opened even wider,” said Anderson, now employed as a drug perversion officer. “There really wasn’t a better fit for me. I really enjoy working with young people in the school system and with volunteer workers in the evening.”

Anderson spends considerable time talking to young people about reaching their goals through clean living. It’s a lifestyle he has followed and also endorses in a book he has written that will be released this fall.

For the record, Anderson compiled a pro chart of 19-2 and also posted 85 wins in 97 amateur bouts. He was the first Canadian to defeat a Cuban boxer (1977), was a gold medalist at the World Cup of Boxing in Montreal (1981) and a two-time Nova Scotia Male Athlete of the Year (1980 and 1982).

As a pro, he won the Canadian welterweight crown in 1985 with a win over Montreal’s Guerrero Chavez, lost it to Toronto’s Donnie Poole later that year and regained it again in 1986 with a victory over Vancouver’s John Herbert. he retained the title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Denis Sequin of Hull just prior to his retirement.

‘To be honest I never really considered being elected to the Hall of Fame,” said Anderson. “To be amongst elite athletes like that is really incredible. It’s funny because I really haven’t had this kind of attention in years. When I’m walking down the street , I have people hollering from cars ‘hey, hall of famer,’ and the other day, I was in a restaurant and they brought out a cake and someone called out ‘we have a hall of famer with us this evening.'”

“It’s just a real honour. And it’s something for my kinds. When I walk away they’re going to be able to say, ‘Hey, my dad was an elite boxer, among the elite athletes of Nova Scotia.'”