Al Delaney (Alexander Borshuk)

Al Delaney (born Alexander Borshuk) reigned as Canadian Heavyweight Champion from 1941 until 1945. During a career that spanned thirteen years and more than one hundred bouts, Delaney fought many of the best heavyweight and light heavyweight fighters of the 1930s and 40s.

Born in Oshawa in 1916, Delaney moved to Windsor in the early 1920s, growing up on

Hickory Road in what was then Ford City. Strong and athletic, he excelled at several sports, including shot put. He took up boxing in his early teens, training at Pat Drouillard’s gym under the direction of Drouillard himself. After headlining several amateur boxing shows in Windsor, Delaney made his professional debut in Detroit in 1934. Later that year he faced future heavyweight champion and boxing legend Joe Louis. Despite losing the fight, Delaney made an impressive showing against Louis, cracking one of the future champion’s molars in the process.

Al Delaney went on to meet several top contenders in the ring, including International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Tommy Loughran and Gus Lesnevich and top-ranked fighters Buddy Baer and Tony Galento. He retired in 1945 with a record of 49 wins, 28 losses and 7 draws.

Sources:

“Borshuk Among Best to Enter Ring” Windsor Star, September 29, 1992 page 13

“Borshuk Kayo Victim” Detroit Free Press, September 12, 1934, page 23

Windsor-Essex County Sports Hall of Fame profile page