Marie-Pier Houle defeated Yamila Esther Reynoso by unanimous decision (60-54, 59-55 x 2), Friday night, at the first boxing gala of the year for Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM), at the Casino de Montréal. .
It was the first fight for Houle since the incidents last August at IGA Stadium, when her Mexican opponent Jeanette Zacarias Zapata succumbed to injuries sustained during the duel.
“It wasn’t exactly what I expected today,” admitted Houle. I had some small difficulties in adapting, but overall, victory is what I wanted. We will continue to improve. I am here to stay. Those who thought I was going to lose this fight, well here it is! »
The first two rounds were very divided. Houle took the center of the ring and was more aggressive with good shots on target and then Reynoso did well in combinations.
Houle took over from the third assault, go-getter.
The energy level went down seriously in the fifth, with a lot of clashes. Houle took a lot and started to fall back, but she corrected the shot to conclude the fight.
In the gala final, Mazlum Akdeniz dominated Erick Enciana by split decision (95-94, 93-96, 96-93).
Akdeniz (16-0, 8 K.-O.), very consistent, fought in the final for the first time since the beginning of his career, and disputed a first fight of 10 rounds.
He was never bored, simply being more accurate than his rival, who still defended well. Enciana had his best moments in the sixth period, particularly attacking the body and leading the charge.
Akdeniz wasn’t too bothered by the conflicting scores.
“Things happen, he’s a tough opponent. The referee took away a point from me (because of a headbutt at the start of the fight), so it’s sure that it will swing with the judges. He had a good game planit was tough still, a little difficult to touch. I had to adapt. »
Akdeniz also took advantage of the platform to show his support for the Ukrainian people, who are currently victims of a conflict with Russia.
“To the people in Ukraine, we are with you. I’m of Kurdish origin, so I know what you’re going through right now. For all the people who are from Ukraine, we support them, we are behind them. »
Beautiful entrancestare among the pros for Basran
Eric Basran made his professional debut against Ariel Vasquez winning by unanimous decision with scores of 40-36, 39-37 x 2.
He has shown himself to be very agile, quick and effective in counter-attacking.
Vasquez did better in the third round but Basran controlled the rest of the fight well.
“I think it was good, but there are things to improve, analyzed Basran at the microphone after his victory. This is my first fight in two years. My first fight is now done, then I know that the second will be much better. »
Basran, the 2018 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist, is from Vancouver but trains in Montreal.
The 23-year-old pugilist was considered the best Canadian amateur boxer when he joined the ranks of GYM.
Canceled fights
Note that the fights of Alexis Barrière and Derek Pomerleau have been canceled.
Barrière was scheduled to face Albertan Tim Chemelli but their duel was canceled for medical reasons.
Pomerleau was declared positive for COVID-19.
