By Craig Handel, Fort Myers News Press, Friday, November 13, 2009
When Steve Canton was asked what it means to be inducted into the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame, a flood of thoughts came out. None were about himself.
They all were about relationships the trainer has had. He talked about how his gym on Fowler Street in Fort Myers helped so many youths and how it catered to 57 nationalities. He also talked about mortality and how 18 friends met through boxing have died, including 20-year-old Ernesto Romero, a Cape Coral High graduate who seemed to have life figured out.
"This sport is sacred to me," Canton said.
"The thing is, it teaches about life, not just boxing.
"Boxing is the sweet science but most of the sweet scientists are all dead."
On Sunday, Canton will be one of 15 people formally inducted into the inaugural class. The bell will ring for the seven inductees who have died.
To get a true understanding of what this induction means, it's best to talk to Canton's brother, Chris.
"I've never seen him more ecstatic, more proud," Chris Canton said. "Everything in his life, all that he's worked so hard for, now there's a big payoff."
Chris Canton went with his brother to Tampa in June for the Florida Boxing Hall of Fame Inaugural Gala Dinner. He saw Steve Canton talk with fellow inductees Angelo Dundee and Pinklon Thomas.
As much as Steve Canton enjoyed working with Thomas - a former world heavyweight champion - he equally has enjoyed working with projects such as Jesus Lule, 25, and Roger Caldwell, 23, boxers who nobody else wanted. Canton trained them and their bond is inseparable.
"I'm getting trained by a Hall of Fame trainer," Caldwell said with a big smile on his face.
How has Canton helped him?
"Mental or overall?" Caldwell responded. "A lot of stuff, being in control, angles, moving faster.
"A lot of trainers didn't want me, said I had no talent. Once he got me and trained me, those people wanted me back. I said, 'No, I'm with him until I'm done in boxing.' ''
Another boxer who touched Canton is Romero, who went from losing his father and struggling in high school, graduating, then going into the service, getting engaged and talking about going to college.
"He came in just before he died and asked if he could train that night," Canton said. "His girlfriend stayed and watched. He told me, 'I really appreciate you letting me train. I'm going to visit friends and family and when the weekend's over, on Monday, I'll be back to work out.
"On the Sunday before, I read he was killed in a car accident."
After attending Romero's funeral, Canton attended another for a friend later that same day.
"I had a friend call me and asked me to say hi to all his boxing friends," Canton said. "I said, 'That won't take too long.' Then he says, 'Now don't you die, too.' That night, I had all these nightmares and I kept waking up. Then I realized, I'm all right so far, I'm still here."
