Gaetan Hart: Old School Boxing & Life After the Ring

Exclusive Interview by Tony “The Fighting Writer” Luis

“It was the crowd, the spotlight. I was blessed to have such a good following in Montreal, the fans always appreciated me. I missed hearing the cheers. You feel like people forget about you. When you retire, it all stops.”—Gaetan Hart

Recently, I attended an amateur boxing show in Gatineau, Quebec, about an hour and a half from my hometown. I was one of the guests of honor, along with a couple of other up and coming pros. But this was not my night. The night belonged to the star guest of honor, Gatineau boxing gym owner, Gaetan Hart. I felt privileged to be sharing this evening with this former world class fighter.

I wondered just how many of these young amateurs actually knew who this man was, or, even had an idea of how courageously he represented the Canadian flag, in his time on the world stage. A real life Rocky who would sit by the phone, ready to take on any challenge, on any given notice, on either side of the world. After a brief amateur career, which didn’t even make it out of the novice ranks, he embarked on his professional journey. It was a roller coaster ride that saw many highs and lows, but, ultimately he cemented his claim as a legend for Canadian boxing. He finished his career with 57-31-4, 25 KO’s.

Of course, the fighter in me also started sizing this man up, as I am well aware he fought in my weight class in his prime. I had to give my head a shake and leave my ego at the door, and remind myself this Canadian legend is now 62 years old, there will be no fight for me tonight! Which ended up being just fine with me. I got to sit with Gaetan throughout the evening and chat boxing, exchange stories on each other’s respective careers, have some laughs, introduce him to my beautiful fiancé, show him pictures of my 13 month old son, and all in all, just bonding with a fellow warrior and brother in boxing. Here is our exclusive interview for Ringside Report.

TL: Gaetan, before we discuss the specifics of your career, I have to ask this question before I forget. Is it true you smoked throughout your whole career? And decided to quit AFTER you retired?

Crazy eh? But I never smoked a pack a day or nothing like that. I limited myself to 2-3 cigarettes a day.

TL: Rocky Graziano smoked throughout his career and would have a cigarette in the dressing room before his fights to help him with his nerves.

Yeah, I wasn’t that brave. The last few days before the fight I would cut out the smoking. But I will say it helped with stress and did help me to control my weight when I was training. (*at this moment there is a brief pause and then we both begin laughing at his lame attempt to justify his bad habit*)

TL: How soon did you get into boxing, and what lead you to the sport?

I started boxing around 14-15 years old. There was this kid at school who was constantly bullying me. One day the bullying escalated to a fight and he gave me a black eye. When I came home, I had to explain to my father what happened. He bought me a pair of boxing gloves and hung up a heavy bag for me in the garage. He showed me the basics and I started practicing and whacking that bag every day. A few weeks later, I stood up to that bully and he never bothered me again!

TL: So you got your feet wet in boxing practicing with your father, and a single heavy bag in the garage. How soon thereafter did you find your first gym?

Not long after, I heard of a gym in downtown Gatineau, where I was living at the time, and I would go there from time to time and watch the guys train. I signed up and slowly worked my way into it and really started to grow a love for the sport. I started competing in amateur fights. After 7 amateur fights, a manager in Ottawa discovered me and approached me after a fight and said “Gaetan, with your aggressive style, you should strongly consider turning professional”. I thought, why not? I was a young man (19 yrs old) and wanted to make money. I lost my first fight against Paul Collette, who was also making his pro debut, near the end of 1972. I would end up fighting him again about 10 years later and got my revenge! But at the time, I was very disappointed, losing my first pro fight. But I stayed in the gym, kept training and improving, and started winning more then I was losing, and no matter what, I was always learning and gaining experience. I traveled and boxed everywhere in my career. Italy, Puerto Rico, Chicago, New York, Atlantic City.

TL: With only 7 amateur fights, clearly you were not entering the pro ranks with any signing bonuses and the benefit of a manager who would protect you. There was no development stage.

Definitely not. With my first manager/trainer, Vern Stevenson, we fought everywhere. He would pick me up at 5 am every morning to run, and he trained me hard in the gym and always made sure I was in shape. “Have gloves, will travel” was my attitude. I was always in the gym ready to take the call for a fight, at any given notice. It was a tough way to start my career and make a living. But thanks to him, at least I got to have an opportunity to go pro. I was thrown in tough, from the beginning, but I also learned a lot and it paid off in the long run.

TL: You had a well-traveled career, fought a who’s who of Canadian contenders and champions, won the Canadian title 3 times, and shared a ring on the world stage, with some of the best fighters of your time (Aaron Pryor, Livingstone Bramble, Claude Noel, Alfredo Escalera, Bruno Arcari). Out of all the moments you experienced in your career, is there one that sticks out for you? A personal favorite, or even just a funny story that media and fans may not know about?

First I will say, that I always thought I beat Livingstone Bramble and should’ve got the decision. But that’s boxing. My 3 fights with Nicky Furlano comes to mind. He was one tough sonofabitch (Hart won 2 out of 3, their last two fights were for the Canadian title). But this is my best story.. It’s near the end of 1975, 3 years into my career. I’m between fights, nothing is lined up for me at the moment. I was seeing a girl from my hometown of Buckingham at the time, and we decide to go out with some friends in Ottawa for an all-night bender. The drinks were going down good. After the bar, we invite our friends over to our place and keep the party going. It’s 5 am, we’re still drinking, when I hear the buzzer go off at my front door. It’s my trainer, he says “Gaetan, I got a big fight for you! Great opportunity!” I say, “Ok, where?”.
He replies, “Puerto Rico. But if we’re taking this fight, we need to take the earliest flight, ASAP!”.

I said yes and I left the party, we headed for the airport. I’m sleeping off my hang-over on the plane, when I wake up and it comes to me, “Who am I fighting?” My trainer says “Alfredo Escalera”. “Who’s that?”, I asked. He says WBC Jr. Lightweight Champion of the world. “What the fuck? Are you crazy?!” Relax Gaetan! You’ve been training and your tough. Just do the best you can, fight hard, if we don’t win, we don’t win. But it’s a good payday, and the experience. This fight can only make you better”. 2 days later, I went 6 rounds with Alfredo Escalera. I had just turned 22 years old and I learned what it was like to bleed from a cut for the first time. The cut is what did me in, I was bleeding everywhere and they finally stopped it in the 6th round.

TL: That’s wild. What an amazing story. Sometimes, you hear horror stories when a fighter boxes in a foreign country. They poison the food, they send hookers up to your room etc.. How were you treated when you landed?

I can’t say anything bad about my time in Puerto Rico. They had me stay at a real nice place, close to the ocean, food was great. In fact, my biggest hassle while I was there, was arguing with my girlfriend on the phone, because I was missing dinner at her family’s. “But babe! I’m really in Puerto Rico, I’m going to fight the world champion!”

TL: Now I have to ask a difficult question. You had a great trilogy with Cleveland Denny. In 1977, he beats you by unanimous decision. In 1978, you win a split decision in the rematch for the Canadian Lightweight title. The two of you would meet for a third and final time in Montreal, in June 1980, on the undercard of the classic first battle between Sugar Ray Leonard and Roberto Duran. In a thrilling battle, you get the win via 10th round TKO. 16 days later, Denny passed away from injuries he sustained in the fight.

The story has been well-documented. I can’t even begin to imagine the different stages you’ve gone through psychologically over the years, dealing with that experience. As a fighter myself, I understand you cannot be held responsible for that tragedy. You simply did your job. Unfortunately, there are other Cleveland Denny stories out there. With all the authorities that exist in boxing, from sanctioning bodies, to athletic commissions, to referees/trainers/ringside doctors. Is there anything that can be done differently to prevent a tragedy like Cleveland Denny? Or is it just a risk, that we don’t talk about enough, that a fighter takes when he steps in that ring?

It’s a risk, and it will always be there. Listen, I fought 5 world champions in my career, there were many times that I could have suffered the same fate. Luckily, I was blessed with a good chin, I was always tough and I was always in good condition. You can recover from shots much better if you’re in good shape. That’s why it’s so important for a fighter to take care of himself.

TL: What’s the best advice you can give to a young man/woman who wants to box professionally?

If you train hard, treat your body right and perfect the basics, you have nothing to worry about. The rest will fall into place.

TL: Retirement… Every fighter is their own person, with their own unique experiences. But often times, most fighters come back for the same reasons (money, the spotlight). Your first comeback was in 1990, after 6 years away from the ring, beating undefeated favorite Michel Galarneau.

You would then lose a majority decision to Greg Gayle and retire. You came back 2 years later, 1992, to fight Michel Galarneau again, this time for the Canadian title, which you were attempting to win for the 4th time. This time, Galarneau wins a decision, keeps his belt and you hang up the gloves again. You would come back 8 years later, in 2000, at 46 years old, losing to a journeyman who would not have belonged in the same ring as you, in your prime. What was it for you, that would compel you to come back? What makes life after boxing so hard for many fighters?

It was the crowd, the spotlight. I was blessed to have such a good following in Montreal, the fans always appreciated me. I missed hearing the cheers. You feel like people forget about you. When you retire, it all stops. All you hear is silence. I should also mention I went through a divorce, lost my house and that made things difficult as well.

So I would go back to what I knew best to make money, boxing. Also, it’s even harder for a guy like me, who had no education, so good paying jobs were hard to find. So I worked construction for many years, working like a dog, for a small paycheck. Of course as years roll by in retirement, you fall more and more out of shape, coming home from a long day’s work, too sore to do anything, you have no life. At least that was my story in the early years of my retirement.

TL: Champ, I want you to know my father is a big fan of yours and watched you growing up. My grandfather also admired you and if he was here today, he’d be thrilled knowing his grandson is interviewing you! Thank you for your time! It’s been a pleasure. Anything in closing?

Just a big thank you to the fans who still remember me and appreciated me. You guys have touched my heart for life.

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