Nova Scotia's Custio Clayton celebrates his victory over Quebec's Mian Hussain in the 69 kg event at the Canadian boxing championships in Sydney, N.S. on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012.The Canadian Press
Canada hasn't won a boxing match at the Olympics since 2004, and Custio Clayton hopes to change that on Sunday when he makes his debut at the Games.
The fighter from Dartmouth, N.S., is the first of three Canadian boxers who will contend in London. The 24-year-old earned the final Olympic berth available in the welterweight (69-kilogram) class.
Clayton began boxing as a tiny nine-year-old at Dartmouth's City of Lakes Boxing Club. He is still coached there by Gary Johnson, father and coach of 1992 Canadian Olympian Kirk Johnson. The '92 Olympian has acted as a mentor for Clayton.
The Dartmouth boxer has six Canadian titles to his name and is one of 11 Nova Scotians at the London Games, the most ever from the province.
Clayton drew a tough matchup for his first fight today at 3:45 pm London time (10:45 a.m. ET). He faces Mexican Oscar Molina Casillas, a silver medalist at the 2011 Pan Am Games in Guadalajara,, Mexico. Clayton has faced the Mexican fighter before, losing by one point at the 2010 Pan American Boxing Championships.
Canada has eight Olympic boxing medals to its history. The last one was a silver earned by David Defiagbon at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta. The last Canadian boxer to win gold was Lennox Lewis at the Seoul Games in 1988. Canada qualified just one boxer for the 2008 Games, Adam Trupish, and he was eliminated in his first fight.
Simon Kean of Trois Rivieres, Que. will also represent Canada, entering the ring for the first time on Wednesday. Mary Spencer of Windsor, Ont. fights Friday as women's boxing debuts at the Games.
Rachel Brady