(Montreal) There are these fights that open the doors to the big leagues. For Marc Ramsay, that of Erik Bazinyan against Alantez Fox, Thursday, at the Casino de Montreal, is one of those.
Bazinyan (28-0, 21 KOs) will then put his North American Boxing Association (NABA) and North American Boxing Federation (NABF) super middleweight belts into play against Fox (28-3- 1, 13 KOs). But much more than these minor titles, Bazinyan could leave his calling card for major fights.
“It’s his entry into the world of adults. We have a guy (Fox) here who has three defeats, but against three legends of the boxing world, “said Ramsay about the Mexican’s setbacks at the expense of David Morell (in the world championship of the World Boxing Association), Liam Williams and Demetrius Andrade.
“We want to prove that Erik is in this group and it goes through this kind of opponent, continued Ramsay. With guys like Erik, (Yves) Ulysse (who will ensure the semi-final of the gala), (Christian) Mbilli and (Steve) Claggett, we have come to this: we have to challenge guys of greater importance. »
“It’s a very good fight for me, to improve and gain as much experience as possible, because I’m possibly two fights away from a world championship fight,” agreed Bazinyan in exemplary French. It’s one of the last steps […], I have to show everyone what I can do with this fight. »
Ramsay believes this fight will move Bazinyan up the world rankings, but more importantly his reputation.
“I can compare to the fight we had between Jean Pascal and Carl Froch, whom we had challenged at home, in England, for almost no money, recalled the coach. […] This paved the way for a clash against Adrian Diaconu and a few months later, Jean was world champion.
“A guy like Artur, we have no choice but to go through him, because he has three belts. Guys like Erik, Yves and Christian have to go through it to become essentials. […] In terms of rankings, we are a bit in a dead end, even if there may be a bit of political games behind that. But to become a must for American networks, you have to go through it. »
Bazinyan also hopes that his notoriety in Quebec will be boosted by this duel, he who sometimes goes under the radar of amateurs in La Belle Province, despite his immaculate record and his advantageous rankings: second in the WBA, third in the World Boxing Organization (WBO ), fourth in the World Boxing Council (WBC), and ninth in the International Boxing Federation (IBF).
“Quebec is home to me; this will be my 10th fight at the Casino. It is my objective to be more and more known in Quebec. I wish that were the case. But with great fights, people will know me more and more. »
Ulysse (22-2, 12 K. -O.) will ensure the semi-final against Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela (25-3-1, 15 K. -O.) in this gala which will count seven fights in all.
Beterbiev didn’t slow down…
Impossible to meet Marc Ramsay without going back to the performance of Artur Beterbiev on Saturday, against Anthony Yarde, but especially on the offers of Jean Pascal and Lou DiBella, who declared Monday morning that the triple world champion was caught up by time, he who is 38 years old.
DiBella said Beterbiev looked aging, while Pascal, 40, said he had more energy than Beterbiev at 38.
“Fighting makes you look good or bad. It wasn’t a perfect fight, but from a slowdown perspective, it’s not something we’ve seen in the gym, Ramsay replied. I could give you a list of training partners who could testify in this direction. »
Beterbiev (19-0, 19 K.—O.) defeated Yarde (23-3, 22 K.—O.) by technical K.—O. in the eighth round, retaining his IBF, WBC belts and the WBO light heavyweight.
Ramsay also added that if Pascal were to beat Michael Eifert at Place Bell on March 16 and thus became Beterbiev’s mandatory candidate at the IBF, the Laval resident will have to be patient.
“Honestly, the only interest we have is (Dmitry) Bivol. And it’s not Bivol, it’s the fact that he has a belt (from the WBA).
“It’s not a question of disrespecting Jean or Callum Smith (the mandatory challenger of the WBC), but our goal as a team is really to attack Bivol’s belt. […] More than money, more than anything else, becoming the undisputed champion is what drives Artur. »
Ramsay is also lost in conjecture when asked if a possible fight against Pascal should take place within a specific time.
“We don’t know anymore, because organizations do what they want,” he said. We just defended the WBC with Marcus Browne (in December 2021); there, they would like us to defend against Callum Smith. Normally there is supposed to be a rotation between the associations and the IBF should come before the WBC, but they want to go ahead. But on our side, we will ask for a decree to be able to unify against Bivol. »