Photo: Vincent Ethier – The new WBC heavyweight champion, Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse, won the belt in what was clearly the fight of the night.
Steven Butler and Steve Rolls had already sparred a few times in training, and both men had assured that it had always been competitive. On March 7th, however, the Quebecer wasn’t at the Montreal Casino for a sparring session when he barely took a minute to completely annihilate the Ontarian.
“Steve Rolls is not the ultimate goal, it’s just another step towards it,” commented Butler (34-4-1, 28 KOs) humbly, conceding nonetheless that it was his biggest career victory so far.
Ahead of this fight, both boxers had also been clear that the winner could dream again of international success, while the loser would be burdened with difficult thoughts about his future. So now that ‘Bang Bang’ can embark on a third international foray, it remains to be seen what the future holds for Steve Rolls (22-4, 12 KOs), who will celebrate his 40th birthday next month.
A stronger tornado than expected
Camille Estephan had set the bar high for his new protege Osleys Iglesias (10-0, 9 KOs). Not only did he praise him all week, but by pitting him against Marcelo Coceres, he opened the door for people to say that Pacheco, Saunders, Berlanga, or Bazinyan were better than him if he didn’t impress.
‘El Tornado’ not only impressed, but the Cuban even exceeded expectations by outperforming everyone en route to a victory in the 1st round. Seeing his protege leave the ring without a scratch, Camille Estephan indicated that the door was open for a return to the ring as early as May for Iglesias, potentially to defend his IBO title.
The belt stays in Quebec
It was more complicated than expected and much more complex than in the case of Butler and Iglesias, but Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse (7-1, 2 KOs) closed the loop by winning the WBC heavyweight title, nearly seven years after her first attempt.
After a war of 10 rounds, the judges handed in two cards of 97-93 in favor of the Lauriermontoise, winning by split decision. Abril Vidal (10-2, 4 KOs) was also highly competitive and received a 96-94 scorecard in her favor.
Although passionate supporters from Argentina called for a rematch, the logical next step would be for “Vany” to face amateur world champion Danielle Perkins (4-0, 2 KOs) later this year, in a fight that the champion dreams of having in her native lands of Outaouais.
Biyarslanov breaks the ice
In his first fight with EOTTM, Artur Biyarslanov (14-0, 12 KOs) made sure to leave a good impression. He emerged victorious in the 3rd round thanks to an impressive – even unique – series of body hooks against the valiant Cristian Palma (33-14-2, 7 KOs).
While the ‘Chechen Wolf’ saw action for the first time in nearly 10 months, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him back soon after Ramadan. It’s worth noting that his coach, Samuel Décarie-Drolet, mentioned that his protege would aim for the top 10 of the super lightweights as early as 2025.
Santana continues his streak
Against veteran Emilio Garcia (19-10-1, 13 KOs), the replacement of the replacement of his original opponent, Montrealer Luis Santana (11-0, 5 KOs) was never troubled, winning in the 2nd round to collect his 3rd consecutive KO.
In fact, there was some concern. At the end of the 1st round, Santana hit his opponent a fraction of a second after the bell. Garcia remained on the canvas for – very – long minutes, and some were even beginning to worry that he wouldn’t get up, which would have caused a no-contest. However, the worst was avoided as Garcia regained consciousness for a few minutes before throwing in the towel the following round.
Unal in uncharted territory
In the midst of a swift gala, Mehmet Unal (9-0, 8 KOs) and his opponent Facundo Galovar (15-11-2, 9 KOs) had the longest work night, reaching the 8-round limit.
True to his habits, Unal applied constant pressure and threw enough power shots to knock down a tree, but apparently not enough to stop Galovar, as the Argentine had already gone the distance of 10 rounds with Albert Ramirez.
At least, Unal gained valuable rounds of experience, reaching the 7th and 8th rounds, rounds he had never seen before. And even without a KO, he did enough for the combined scorecards of three judges to give him 23 out of 24 rounds.
Who will withstand ‘El Tigre’?
To compensate for the fact that his opponent was a last-minute replacement, EOTTM offered the biggest test of Jhon Orobio’s young career (7-0, 7 KOs), Cristian Gonzalez (12-20-1, 6 KOs).
Gonzalez alone had more experience than the six previous opponents of El Tigre combined. Furthermore, he had completed the total of 16 rounds in his three outings in Canada. However, that didn’t make a difference for Orobio, who sent his opponent to the canvas twice en route to a 7th KO in as many fights, this one in the 2nd round. He will now return on April 11th, where he will try to make it eight for eight.
Wilkens Mathieu stays busy
In the opening act, Quebec City’s Wilkens Mathieu (8-0, 5 KOs) also triumphed in two rounds, also against the most experienced opponent of his young career, Czech Patrik Fiala (8-5-2, 5 KOs).
The 19-year-old prospect will also be part of the April 11th event at the Montreal Casino, marking his 4th fight in less than 4 months.
“It’s something we discussed with my team. I’m young and I’m ready, so why not do it,” says the youngster who, as you may have guessed, aims for the busiest year of his career.
Thomas Chabot returning soon
Although present at the gala, Thomas Chabot was not in the ring as initially planned. This is because, under a new federal law, his opponent Jose Bernal couldn’t obtain a visa in time to enter the country, and a replacement opponent couldn’t be found either.
Again, it’s just postponed, as his presence at the April 11th gala has already been confirmed.
