SPECIAL COLLABORATION

Finally local boxing is reborn. After a 64-day lull, the big men will take center stage Saturday night at the Casino de Montreal, under the guidance of Eye of the Tiger Management, but in front of empty tables.

The following week, on the 24th, Groupe Yvon Michel will launch its 2022 campaign with two newcomers who will be at their start and three others, including Marie-Pier Houle, who have never suffered defeat.

The last time a gala was presented in Quebec dates back to December 17, at the Bell Center, when Artur Beterbiev knocked out American Marcus Browne by knockout in the 9th round, thus retaining his WBC and IBF world titles. light heavyweights.

At the Casino on Saturday, Arslanbek Makhmudov will defend his NABF and NABA crowns against veteran Mariusz Wach and in the semi-finals, it is Simon Kean who will try to win a sixth straight victory by knockout. at the expense of veteran Shawndell Terell Winters.

We can therefore expect a real fireworks display with these four pugilists swinging the scales at nearly half a ton.

A real colossus

If there’s one thing that strikes you at first sight about heavyweight Mariusz Wach (36-7, 16 KOs), it’s his 6-foot-8 height. And for a 43-year-old guy, he still looks in pretty good shape.

His record isn’t the most impressive at heavyweight. After all, he was defeated seven times during his 17-year long career in the ring, including three knockouts. at the hands of Martin Bakole (17-1, 13 KOs), Jarrell Miller (23-0-1, 20 KOs) and Alexander Povetkin (36-3-1, 28 KOs). ).

The takeaway from Wach is that he finished all of his fights against Hughie Fury, Dillian Whyte, Artur Szpilka and even Wladimir Klitschko.

What’s left in his tank?

Nobody knows. Not even himself.

Wach has a name, an imposing size, a certain reputation. Since his last defeat by K.-O. in April 2019, he went 3-2, 2 KOs.

Against whom did he win his victories?

Against three second-class boxers. Gogita Gorgiladze (10-30), Giorgi Tamazashvili (3-5) and Kevin Johnson (34-16-1).

So far, Makhmudov has been able to climb to 9th place in the WBC contenders and 8th in the WBA while facing second-rate or burnt-out boxers. It is therefore beginning to interest American connoisseurs.

A 32-year-old, 6-foot-5-and-a-half heavyweight with such an impressive record whose name is enshrined in two of the world’s associations is always of interest to promoters. We never know…

In the case of Wach, he is a well-known boxer, although his name is no longer found in the rankings.

He now fights for the sake of boxing knowing that at his age a championship is virtually impossible.

At Makhmudov (13-0, 13 K.-O.) it is absolutely necessary to know where he is at in his ascent to a world championship match.

We will have the chance to evaluate the talent, especially the strike force of Makhmudov by comparing his performance against that of Wach against Erkan Teper.

It will be remembered that the big Mak had forced Teper to withdraw from his match from the first engagement, so much he was downgraded by the Russian. It was September 23, 2021 at the Videotron Center in Quebec.

However, in 2017, this same Teper had managed to go to the limit of twelve assaults against Wach, in Germany.

It was 2017, the year Makmudov made his first fight in Canada. He has since been involved in thirteen games, winning them all while Wach delivered eight and lost five.

Imagine fat Mak has only delivered four rounds of boxing in over two years. Four fights, four knockouts from the first engagement.

We watch it

Eyes from across the border have been watching Makhmudov for some time. Thirteen fights, 13 victories including 10 by K.-O. on the first engagement. It’s impressive. It is true that the competition was not at the same degree of difficulty as that of Joe Joyce, Daniel Dubois, Tony Yoka, Filip Hrgovic and the others, who all like him also aspire to great honors, but let’s move on …

The Ring has been watching him since 2020. Just last Wednesday, the magazine reported an article on the Russian, where the latter declared that it was the first time in his career that he faced a boxer taller than him. .

What connoisseurs have observed is that 5 of Makhmudov’s 13 victims have not boxed since their defeat by referee stoppage. from the first round. They are Jaime Baraja, Avery Gibson, Samuel Peter, Dillon Carman and Teper.

I don’t know if one day Makhmudov will realize his dream and participate in a world championship game. For the moment, he must be content with the NABF belt, but a K.-O. fast against Wach could push him higher in the rankings, say fifth or sixth.

Prediction : Makhmudov by K.-O. before the 5th round.

All in Quebec

When we take a look at the ranking of the best heavyweights in Canada, we see that the three best all live in Quebec, but only one is from Quebec.

This is Simon Kean (20-1, 19 KOs) who we will see at work this Saturday against Shawndell Terel Winters (13-6, 12 KOs).

Oscar Rivas is the WBC light-heavyweight champion and he is a native of Colombia. The third choice of BoxRecthe one who comes in 38th place is Makhmudov, a native of Russia.

However, still according to BoxRec, Kean is their first choice in Canada, but he is not ranked in any of the four world associations. Makhmudov is seven places behind him, but his name is popping up among WBC and WBA contenders.

Eight-month absence

Kean returns to competition after an eight-month absence, since his victory in Mexico over Don Haynesworth (15-5-1).

His next rival, Shawndell Terell Winters, despite his 41 years, is to be taken seriously despite having lost four of his last five games, but beware… in his thirteen victories he has accumulated, he has past the K.-O. to twelve of his rivals.

Prediction : Kean by K.-O. before the 7th round

A step forward for Custio Clayton

Custio Clayton (19-0-1, 12 KOs) has dreamed of playing in a championship game for almost seven years now and that dream is about to come true. However stands before him, one of the most formidable welterweight currently on the world stage.

His name, Jaron Ennis (28-0, 26 KOs). He’s only 24, but he’s already ranked in all four major associations.

So far, he has destroyed everything in his path since leaving the amateur ranks in 2016.

The two boxers would have already accepted the terms of the engagement and the fight would take place next April. The winner will become the mandatory contender for the WBC and IBF crowns of champion Errol Spence Jr. provided that the latter successfully defends his titles against WBA champion Yordenis Ugas on April 16.

Clayton and Ennis both faced ex-champ Sergey Lipinets. Clayton had to settle for a draw, even though many insiders believe he did defeat the ex-monarch.

As for Ennis, he continued his work of destruction against Lipinets by passing him the K.-O. in the sixth commitment.

It’s quite a test for Clayton.

Happy boxing!