Kim Clavel finally has it, her world championship. And this WBC flyweight belt, won at the expense of Mexican Yesenia Gómez on Friday night, she deserved it.
Posted at 9:49 p.m.
Updated at 11:05 p.m.
The defending champion was without response in front of the dominant and sustained performance of the Quebecer.
“I’m proud of us, of my team, because it doesn’t happen alone,” reacted Clavel, with emotion, to the media after the clash.
A brawl that promoter Yvon Michel described as one of the “best fights in the history of boxing in Quebec, all genres combined”.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Kim Clavel’s entourage, with Yvon Michel by his side.
It’s an amazing performance from Kim Clavel.
Yvon Michel
Her trainer Danielle Bouchard, showing a certain complicity with her boxer, commented on her performance in front of the journalists.
“You were organized, structured,” she told him. […] It’s your fight with the best defense. »
Clavel looked at her tenderly. Grateful, too.
“Everyone has their own way,” says Clavel. I have to deliver the goods. It’s easier to do it with a team that supports you, in good and bad times. »
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Kim Clavel after her victory against the Mexican Yesenia Gómez.
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Kim Clavel in action, against Yesenia Gómez
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Kim Clavel in action, against Yesenia Gómez
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Yesenia Gómez had her hands full against Kim Clavel
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PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Kim Clavel at the moment of victory
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“She had hammers in her hands”
The meeting started off with a bang. Both boxers were combative. And didn’t let go an inch. In terms of volume, it was still Clavel (16-0, 3 KOs) who most often hit the target.
But Gómez (19-6-3, 6 K.-O.) did not allow himself to be imposed either. She regularly responded to Clavel’s powerful strikes. The speed of the Quebecer nevertheless gave the Mexican a hard time.
When did she realize that her game plan was the right one?
In the first round. I felt good, I felt alive. Fast. I expected her to be a little faster than that. When I saw that I was blocking his punches, I felt safe.
Kim Clavel
“The more the rounds progressed, the more confident I felt. »
The pace eased off a bit in the middle of the engagement. During the fourth and fifth rounds, the fighters slowed down the flow of their punches. Strategy that may have gone to Gómez’s advantage at this time.
“She was very tough,” Clavel said. Her hands were heavy. She had hammers in her hands. And she was very persistent. […] Don’t let her impose her own pace. I tried to get her out of her comfort zone, and it worked. »
Except that Kim Clavel found his pace in the seventh round. And made the crowd exclaim with his solid strikes that repeatedly hit the target. We even wondered how his opponent was doing to stay upright.
“We destabilized her in that round, noted Bouchard. With speed. Kim started giving angles, being quick on her legs, going to the side, coming back. »
The two pugilists then gave their all for the last two minutes of the fight. Just like the supporters gathered at the Casino, who rose to their feet in the last moments to cheer for their favorite.
“Let’s go, Kim!” “, they chanted, a few minutes before the obvious was made official: Kim Clavel was world champion.
These are years of hard work. Of sacrifice. Boxing is my passion. I put so much of my time into it since I was a teenager. […] This is the start of a beautiful story.
Kim Clavel
And she intends to celebrate her first world championship in a big way.
“Perhaps we’ll make a corn roast!” “Jokes Kim Clavel.
Short undercard
Marie-Pier Houle was never really worried during her victory against Hungarian Timea Gabriella Belik (6-6-2, 2 KOs) on Friday. She won by unanimous decision after six rounds.
“It was a big fight, quite physical, she commented afterwards. I expected maybe a little less. I think it’s kind of my style to attract these fights. »
The start of this clash at welterweight promised a well-contested affair. Perhaps because Houle took time to impose his rhythm.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Marie-Pier Houle vs. Timea Gabriella Belik
“We just didn’t want her to run away to my right. […] We had seen in her other fights that she tended to come out a lot on that side. That’s what we wanted to avoid. Sometimes I have trouble analyzing myself. It’s something I have to work on. »
But Houle gradually took a real advantage over his opponent. Particularly from the third round, when one of her many strikes caused the Hungarian to flinch slightly.
Belik had heavy arms afterwards. Houle looked for the K.-O. until the end, without finding the breach. However, she improves her record to 7-0-1.
The next two fights were quick. Montrealer Jonathan Di Bella (2-0, 1 K.-O.) won by K.-O. in the second round against the Mexican Jesus Omar Chavez Velazquez (2-3, 2 K.-O.)
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Artur Biyarslanov and Burkinabe Issouf Kinda
Just before the main event, Toronto’s Artur Biyarslanov (11-0 9 KOs) knocked his opponent down in 1 minute 5 seconds. The poor Burkinabé Issouf Kinda (18-6, 7 KOs) could not get up on the count of 10.
“I wanted to make a statement from the start of the first round,” Biyarslanov said. I wanted him to feel my power. »
As a curtain raiser, Derek Pomerleau won by unanimous decision (3-0, 2 K.-O.) against Mexican Marcos Martinez Luna (0-2-1) at middleweight.