Thursday night, Wilkens Mathieu showed why he will be a world champion.
Wilkens Mathieu will be a world champion faster than anyone would have believed. At only 20 years old, he was facing the biggest challenge of his career Thursday night at the Casino de Montréal. A challenge that several already saw as too big for the young Quebec boxer who was facing Shakeel Phinn. However, Wilkens Mathieu is not used to listening to criticism and he stayed true to his habits.
His opponent, Shakeel Phinn (27-4-2, 17 KOs), was notably known to the Montreal public for having obtained a draw against another protégé of the Quebec stable, Erik Bazinyan, last May. A fight in which several saw Phinn as the winner. Moreover, that performance by Phinn planted doubt in the minds of many boxing fans when the announcement of the fight against Wilkens Mathieu was made official.
Many wondered if it was not too early for this type of challenge at this stage of Wilkens Mathieu’s career. Yet, the young Quebec boxer extinguished all doubts about him by delivering a superb performance in a hotly contested fight. Mathieu also accomplished a feat that no boxer had ever done before by sending The Jamaican Juggernaut to the canvas as early as the 3rd round.
Photo: Jeff Lockhart – Shakeel Phinn and Wilkens Mathieu
The crowd was divided into two camps and the cheers toward both boxers proved it; but one point on which all fans can agree is that Wilkens is ready for world-class opponents.
But why is it realistic to think that he will be a world champion? It’s simple: Wilkens Mathieu gained an enormous amount of experience in this fight, he drew from his energy reserves, and went the full 10 rounds. He was facing a respected veteran and, for the first time in his career, high-level adversity. Despite the repeated assaults of his opponent, he demonstrated calmness and impressive maturity for his age. If Erik Bazinyan, who was ranked among the 10 best boxers of all associations (WBC, WBO, WBA and IBF), was not able to get rid of Phinn, that says a lot about Mathieu’s potential.
Photo: Jeff Lockhart – Wilkens Mathieu and Shakeel Phinn
Another point not to be minimized is the fact that the American promotional team, Top Rank, was on site at the Casino de Montréal last Thursday. The fight was broadcast internationally and many boxing fans were able to discover the young Quebec boxer. Greater visibility and growing popularity will certainly help his team obtain a major fight in the near future.
With such a victory, it is therefore easy to wonder what the next step is for the young pugilist who recently stated that his plan was to be a world champion within two years. He was even asked the question after the fight, and Wilkens Mathieu said he would like to face the American Gabriel Rosado (28-17-1, 16 KOs). A veteran who has already faced another Quebec star, David Lemieux, in 2014. Despite his unappealing record, Rosado is highly respected throughout the boxing world and can make an opponent who underestimates him pay — just ask the Uzbek, Bektemir Melikuziev.
Photo: WBN – Gabriel Rosado
No matter his next opponent, Wilkens Mathieu has officially made his entry into the big leagues, and the possibility of becoming a world champion is slowly becoming an unavoidable eventuality.
In the soul of the warrior
On the other hand, the boxer native of Thetford Mines, Thomas Chabot (11-1, 8 KOs), was making his return to the ring for the first time in over a year. He had been bothered by injuries that had prevented him from competing during all that time. Thursday night, he still had a very solid opponent in front of him in Logan Clouthier (7-0, 4 KOs).
Chabot was ready and even made a staff change by hiring Giuseppe Moffa as coach to put all the chances on his side. Despite that, the challenge seemed to be too difficult for the Quebec pugilist, who visited the canvas twice during the 5th round. Despite that, the warrior from Thetford Mines showed courage and resilience, fighting until the sound of the bell of the 8th round. At the end of the bout, the result was clear: Logan Clouthier won the duel by unanimous decision.
Photo: Jeff Lockhart – Thomas Chabot and Logan Clouthier
When Thomas was spoken to after the fight, he was very emotional following the first setback of his career. The question was asked to him: “After so much preparation and sacrifice, after coming back from an injury like the one you suffered, do you remember what went through your mind during your second fall to the canvas?”
Thomas showed humility and great class when he answered very frankly that at the moment of the second fall, even though he got up before the end of the count of ten, he knew that the fight was not going as he would have liked. He even admitted that, even if he got back up, the chances that he would end up winning the duel were almost nil. On his knees, he confided: “I have never thought about giving up in my life, but tonight I thought about it very seriously — I even asked myself if it was over,” a statement that says a lot about him and about the perseverance of this young man.
Despite everything, Chabot had his best moments in the 6th round when he applied pressure to his opponent.
A defeat always hurts, but it does not define a boxer’s career. It’s the way he decides to get back up after the pain that counts
Photo: Jeff Lockhart – Logan Clouthier and Thomas Chabot
