Willie deWit’s first athletic passion was football, but he turned to boxing after high school and never looked back. His first provincial-level bouts came in 1979 and, by the early-1980s, he was representing Canada on the international stage, including a gold medal win the heavyweight division at the 1982 Commonwealth Games. After becoming World Amateur Champion in 1983, he was considered a favorite at the 1984 Summer Olympics. He defeated Mohamed Bouchiche of Algeria, Dodovic Owiny of Uganda, and Arnold Vanderlijde of the Netherlands to reach the final bout against American Henry Tillman, who won the fight decisively and left deWit with the silver medal. The Canadian turned professional after the Games and won or drew fifteen straight bouts, including one against Ken Lakusta to earn the Canadian Heavyweight Title and another against Conroy Nelson to maintain it. He was dealt his first professional loss by American Bert Cooper, but managed to defend his national title twice more against Lakusta and Tony Morrison. After his victory against Morrison he had only one more professional bout: a win against Tillman in a rematch of his 1984 Olympic final, finishing with a career pro record of 21 (KO14)-1-1. He retired shortly thereafter and earned a law degree from the University of Alberta in 1994, eventually joining the firm then known as Evans Martin Wilson, now called Wolch, deWit, Silverberg, & Watts.
Canada