MARK SIMMONS' love affair with boxing started when he was six. While other kids were out on the playground, Simmons was slugging it out with eight-year-olds, two years his senior and 15 pounds heavier. Then he was a novelty in the ring, but not anymore.

Now Simmons (B Sc '00) is rated as one of the best amateur heavyweights in the world. So good in fact that he's headed for the Olympics. While he's going to Sydney, he almost didn't make it. Not due to lack of talent but because he broke his hand in the first bout of the qualifying round. Undaunted, he fought the rest of his matches with a frozen hand - winning them all.

Classes and 35 hours of training a week didn't leave much time for a social life, he says. Even though Canada's Olympic program pays Simmons $560 a month he still had to work every Friday and Saturday night at the local liquor store. Why? Because boxing is expensive. His monthly allowance didn't cover all his gym fees, equipment, travel expenses, food, physical therapy or keeping his car running.

Simmons has beaten notable fighters like Roland Reform (ranked number two in the world in 1998) and out-boxed former Canadian champ and bare-knuckle "Ultimate Fighter" Gary Goodridge. He did lose to Cuban, two-time Olympic champion, Felix Savon but says, "If he's there, I'll beat him. But they might send a younger, better fighter to Sydney."

It's not the actual boxing that's scary, says Simmons, it's the pre-fight nerves he has to contend with. "The psychological games are huge, people don't realize it."

After the Olympics, Simmons will probably hang up his gloves and pursue an MBA or law school.

"I don't want boxing to hold me back from the rest of my goals," he says. Sometimes Simmons has to fight boxing's bad image. "When they find out you fight you can see them back away. I'm sick of being stereotyped. I'm not an aggressive person. I haven't been in a street fight since the third grade. I fight in the ring, but it's not all that I am."

Photo: Lindsay Lozon