Scotty Olson FIGHTING FOR HIS LIFE – Major Medical Update

By Lou Eisen

Former Canadian flyweight boxer and world boxing champion Scotty “The Bulldog” Olson lies in a coma in an Edmonton, Alberta hospital this morning after suffering a major heart attack early Sunday morning. The Canadian boxing community and all of Canada is a state of shock. Olson is one of the most popular athletes from any sport that the nation of Canada has ever produced.

Olson is happily married and a father of two beautiful daughters. Olson’s boxing career came to an end in 2002, when he announced his retirement from the sport with a professional record of 34-4-2, 25 KO’s. Olson fought on the Canadian Olympic team at the 1988 Olympics. Although Lennox Lewis won a Gold Medal that year in the super-heavyweight division over American Riddick Bowe, Olson may very well have been the most popular Canadian boxer on the team and in the tournament.

Olson, only 46 years of age, is apparently on life support although RSR is unable to confirm that at this time. Olson won the International Boxing Organization’s World flyweight title for the first time by scoring a 12 round unanimous decision over Roger Espanola at the Convention Centre, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in front of a raucous hometown crowd on Dec. ninth, 1994. It was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream.

On March 22, 1997, Olson took on his longtime career rival and career nemesis, Michael Carbajal in Corpus Christi, Texas at the Memorial Coliseum, for the vacant International Boxing Association’s light flyweight world title, only to lose in a gallant effort by way of a tenth round knockout. Olson’s last professional fight was a five round TKO loss to future super bantamweight world champion, and fellow Canadian Steve Molitor, on Feb. 15, 2002 at the Shaw Conference Centre in Edmonton, Alberta.

Although the immediate medical outlook for Olson health-wise is not very optimistic, there is still a faint glimmer of hope amongst his family, friends and boxing peers the world over that he will once again rally back to survive and win.