2023-10-12 03:20:00
MONTREAL – On her second attempt and despite obvious progress, Mary Spencer was not able to become world champion in professional boxing, coming up against the very person who had prevented her from rising to the top of her sport earlier. ten months ago: Femke Hermans
After losing by unanimous decision of the judges against the Belgian in a clash for the IBO super-middleweight title last December in Shawinigan, the Montrealer this time had to have been defeated by majority decision in finale of an Eye of the Tiger Management event presented Wednesday evening in front of a packed house at the Cabaret du Casino de Montréal.
The American Martha Tremblay saw a draw (95-95), while the American John Rupert and the Quebecer Sylvain Leclanc delivered cards of 97-93 and 96-94 in favor of Hermans (17-4), who also added the IBF belt that once belonged to Marie-Ève Dicaire to her waist.
The verdict obviously shocked the entire Spencer team (7-2), but he was not booed.
“I’m bitterly disappointed, but at the same time grateful to Eye of the Tiger and those who helped me get this opportunity,” Spencer said after her loss, her second in a row. I worked so hard with [mon nouvel entraîneur Samuel Décarie-Drolet] and I’m at a loss for words to explain how I feel right now. It’s definitely not just a simple defeat. »
“I thought we had it,” said Décarie-Drolet. I had six rounds in our favor. It could have been five-five. It’s a shame. There was a lot of talk about the work I did, but she put in even more hours of her own. I’m disappointed for her since it was a great opportunity. »
“Honestly, I’m disappointed,” added promoter Camille Estephan. It was a close fight, but we accept the judges’ decision. Hermans did everything she had to do. She is the champion and to dethrone a champion, you have to beat her clearly. And we didn’t do it. »
The first rounds of the fight were relatively close, with the champion managing to score points thanks to her jab which she frequently doubled, while the contender seemed at her best when she turned left-handed, which allowed her to place her big back hand.
Hermans, however, began to gain momentum in the sixth round thanks to his jab-jab-right hook combination that Spencer was unable to counter due to the obvious lower speed of his hands. The Montrealer then regained momentum in the eighth, but the Belgian quickly closed the door by increasing the pace at the end of the duel.
“The jab is one of my most powerful weapons,” Hermans explained after his victory. I really worked all evening to keep her at bay. Our second fight was much more intense than the first. Mary worked very well with her new trainer. »
“Often after having done something good, the defensive movement was too great,” recognized Décarie-Drolet. Mary was never able to quickly come back with a second attack. The impact shots were Mary who gave them, but we got beaten on volume. »
Despite the disappointment, Spencer intends to get back to training soon, while Hermans hopes the victory will bring him some recognition. “Becoming world champion last December was great, but some people said it was just the IBO,” lamented Hermans. With the IBF, I will finally be able to write my own story. »
A spectacular victory for Bazinyan before the limit
In the semi-final, Ronald Ellis offered a very honest opposition to Erik Bazinyan until the Laval resident of Armenian origin hit him in the head with a powerful right hook launched on the counter-attack to eventually sign the victory by stoppage from the referee at 1:44 of the 6th round.
Bazinyan (31-0, 22 KOs), who dominated 50-45, 49-46 and 48-47 on the cards of the 3 judges after 5 rounds, thus defended his NABA and NABF belts. super middleweight for the 2nd and 5th time respectively. He also remained undefeated in 31 career fights.
The two boxers started the fight like a lion and Bazinyan was the first to shine by hitting Ellis (18-4-2) in the face with a right at the end of the first round. The Quebecer then attacked his opponent’s body with his jab, but the latter nevertheless managed to turn things around slightly by pinning Bazinyan against the cables in the fourth round.
The Quebecer, however, put an end to the confrontation by managing to shake Ellis with his back hand, then sending him to the floor with another right. The American then managed to get up before the count of 10, but he did not convince referee Alain Villeneuve that he was fit to continue. This is for him a third loss in a row after the one suffered by unanimous decision against Christian Mbilli and by stoppage by the referee in the 11th round against David Benavidez.
This victory will ultimately allow Bazinyan to consolidate his 3rd place in the WBC, WBA and WBO rankings as well as his 5th in the IBF. And more importantly, this victory allows him to record a spectacular victory before the limit after three more lackluster wins on points against Marcelo Esteban Coceres, Altantez Fox and Jose de Jesuis Macias.
On the undercard
A little more than a month after defeating Veselin Markov at the Casino du Lac-Leamy in Gatineau, Christopher Guerrero (9-0, 5 KOs) did it again by manhandling Jose Lopez (30-9-2) before to win by stoppage of the referee at 2:02 of the 4th round. The Montreal welterweight secured his victory by hitting the Mexican with a sharp right-hand uppercut from which he never completely recovered. Lopez indeed managed to get up, but never showed the slightest interest in continuing the hot hand game with the man who had sent him to the mat in the 2nd round.
Competing in her first fight since suffering her first career loss last May, Leïla Beaudoin (10-1) returned to victory by beating Estrella Valverde (19-12-2) by unanimous decision (80-72, 80-72 and 80-72) after eight rounds that the athlete from Témiscouata-sur-le-Lac completely dominated. Having sometimes lacked energy in the final attacks of his last duels, Beaudoin this time demonstrated great consistency from the start to the conclusion of the fight.
Jhon Orobio (5-0, 5 KOs) put on a colorful show before defeating Jesus Solis Reyes (4-2) by stoppage by the referee at 0:48 of the 4th round. The Colombian quickly set the tone by sending the Mexican to the mat from the first moments of the confrontation with a left hook to the chin that Director Giroux would not have denied, then continued to chase his opponent until his corner felt that the carnage had lasted long enough. A bronze medalist at the Junior World Championships in 2021, the lightweight is still undefeated in five outings.
The super middleweight from Quebec Wilkens Mathieu (4-0, 3 KOs) did not last long in the ring by beating Cesar Lopez Romo (2-1) by referee stoppage at 0:14 of the 3rd round. Mathieu made the Mexican visit the floor twice in the 3rd round and his team then did not delay before requesting an end to hostilities from referee Albert Padulo Jr. at the start of the 3rd assault, quickly realizing that Romo was probably still going to have a very bad time. This is a second victory in a row before the limit for the young man, only 18 years old.
In the curtain raiser, Mehmet Nadir Ünal (6-0, 5 KOs) and Imam Khataev (4-0, 4 KOs) did not miss their debuts in front of the Montreal public by recording victories expeditious against Luca Spadaccini (9-6-3) and David Benitez (9-9). The Montrealer of Turkish origin won after his Italian opponent gave up following the first round, while the Montrealer of Russian origin prevailed after the referee stopped the fight at 2:30 of the third. round. The two light heavyweights who recently joined the ranks of EOTTM used a proven recipe to win: they alternated between blows to the face and body and the latter remained without response. Barring something unforeseen, Ünal and Khataev should return to the arena on November 14.
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