It didn’t take long before Paul Zahra was hooked on being a boxing coach.

His introduction to the role came when he was a fighting in Scotland and Ireland as part of a boxing tour that included coaches and athletes from the St. Catharines Boxing Club.

“I remember being a fighter listening to my coach and having a fighter in front of me and going off my instructions, I kind of got the bug,” said the 52-year-old St. Catharines native who will be honoured at the Niagara Legends Boxing Show Friday at the Merritton Community Centre along with fellow St. Catharines Boxing Club coaches John Robertson, former pro boxer Ralph Racine from Niagara Falls, Napper’s Boxing Club coach Julia Dimarcantonio, and Steeltown Boxing Club founder and coach Bob Wilcox.

The former boxer describes coaching boxing as different to being the one in the ring throwing punches.

“When you are in the ring, you are getting punched and you get that adrenaline,” the Holy Cross alumnus said. “When you coach a fighter for so long and spend so much time with them like we do, their successes are our successes and when you see them win, you get that adrenaline rush. It is not the same as fighting but I think that it is more satisfying for me.”

He has been coaching at the St. Catharines Boxing Club for more than 20 years and is motivated by his passion for the sport.

“As a coach, we all love the sport and we have an awesome responsibility as coaches,” said the academy sergeant major at Robert Land Academy, who is in charge of drill discipline, deportment for staff and students and helping to run the day to day operations at the school.

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