Shawn O'Sullivan

Shawn O'Sullivan (born May 9, 1962 in Toronto, Ontario) is a retired Canadian boxer who won gold at the World Amateur Championships in 1981 and the light middleweight silver medal at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Background

O'Sullivan first learned boxing under his father, Michael, a Toronto bus driver. His next teacher was Peter Wylie, a member of the Toronto police department who was a specialist in defusing bombs. He trained at a warehouse in Cabbagetown.

Amateur highlights

Olympics and controversy

Leading up the 1984 Olympics, O'Sullivan and fellow Canadian Willie de Wit were both favoured to win the gold medals in their classes: de Wit as a heavyweight and O'Sullivan as a light middleweight.

In the gold medal bout with Frank Tate, O’Sullivan took Tate to two standing-eight-counts in the second round (and nearly a third as the round ended), but the judges unanimously gave the decision to Tate. O'Sullivan dominated the second round; however, four of the judges (Keith Walker of New Zealand, Han Dong Jin of South Korea, Noureddine Addala of Tunisia and Muili Ojo of Nigeria) gave Tate the round by the slim margin of 20-19.