Jacques LeBlanc: A Journeyman with a Special Gift that Set Him Apart

 The discussions around which boxer possessed the best chin are endless. Names like Chuvalo, Cobb, and Hagler quickly emerge; Juan LaPorte and Kid Gavilan less so.

However, there was a Canadian middleweight of Acadian ancestry out of New Brunswick who fought 320 professional rounds without ever getting knocked down and he went up against some of the toughest men in boxing and he did it consecutively and in short time intervals. His name was Jacques LeBlanc and he often wore down his opponents to garner a win.

 LeBlanc started his career in 1982. In 1988 he beat Danny Winters for the Maritimes Middleweight Title (a title of questionable value beyond the Maritimes). Then in March of 1989 in Moncton, New Brunswick, he became Canadian Middleweight Champion by beating Darrell Flint.

He was 22-4-2 when met the legendary, albeit badly aged, Roberto Duran at the Casino Magic, Bay Saint Louis, Mississippi in June 1993.

 “He’s the perfect opponent for me…He’s got a name and he’s old. This is my time. His time is over. That is how life goes. Eventually in your career, something has to happen.” — LeBlanc

Duran was 87-9 coming in and was an off-the-book favorite to destroy LeBlanc. Against all odds, the Canadian lasted the full 10 rounds, losing on points. In fact, the late great referee Elmo Adolph, working as a judge that night, had Duran winning by a single point (97-96).

As he was soon to prove, his staying power and chin was no fluke.

In October of that year, he suffered a razor-thin MD loss to Canadian regional title-holder Alex Hilton (25-2) in Moncton. Then came Fitzgerald Bruney (9-3) in February 1994 in Quebec City followed two months later by former and future world champion Vinny Pazienza (36-5) at Foxwoods in Connecticut. That was followed by a tiff against future world champion Dana Rosenblatt (20-0) in August 1994 in which he performed well as reflected by the scores of 94-97, 94-98, and 93-98, and then, a mere two months later, in October 1994, he fought another future world champion, Richie Woodhall (16-0), in the UK for the Commonwealth middleweight crown.

Although he lost all of these fights, he was never knocked down and was never dismantled. Heck, he was never really in trouble even though the overall record of the six opponents was 193-19.

There is a video online titled, “Tribute to Jacques LeBlanc ‘Chin of Steel.’’’ And his name appears on the Moncton Sports Wall of Fame.

LeBlanc, who finished his career with a record of 23-11-2, was one of a multitude of professional fighters known as journeymen, but unlike most he had a granite chin in the truest sense of that phrase and that set him apart.

Ted Sares can be reached at tedsares@roadrunner.com

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