Between his morning training and his media obligations, Thursday at the Center Claude-Robillard, Kim Clavel organized his weekend getaway in London.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
Given her busy schedule, which includes her appearances at the weigh-ins and the fight between Claressa Shields and Savannah Marshall on Friday and Saturday, she wondered how to make the most of her visit to England’s capital.
She is suggested to take a tour of the city aboard these famous red imperial buses. Idea that the athlete seemed to like. She might have time in the morning before the weigh-in, she said. Or before Saturday’s fight.
Clavel never went to London. Her new status as WBC world champion comes with a few benefits that she intends to take advantage of. Like this invitation to this confrontation at the pinnacle of sport, at the O2 Arena.
“These are small privileges”, she underlines to The Press, sitting in the ring of the temporary gymnasium installed on the second floor of the complex. To his left, his WBC belt hangs from the ropes.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Kim Clavel with his WBC belt
“I think we deserve them because we work hard in hell to accomplish them. »
Especially since before his unification fight at Place Bell on 1er December, against WBA mid-flyweight champion Jessica Nery Plata, Clavel will be able to use his experience on the other side of the Atlantic to “motivate himself”, “get inspired”.
“I’m going to start my training camp and I’m going to have these images in my head. I’m going to be pumped up. I’m not saying I’m going to have a big big fight like that, but you never know. It’s nice to dream. In addition, we can more than dream. We can come true now. »
“We are about to live beautiful moments”
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Kim Clavel in training Thursday at Center Claude-Robillard
Today is Kim Clavel’s birthday. And at 32, she’s in top form. This is why she and her team agreed to take up the “big challenge” that Yvon Michel presented to them. The fight against Nery Plata will take place four months after winning her title against Yesenia Gómez.
“I’m in my prime, physically and mentally. I feel good. Why wait another two, three years? That’s where it happens. You know, butter, when you leave it out too long, it melts. There it is. »
His trainer Stéphan Larouche agrees.
“There is a window of time for an athlete. Kim is coming of age. In one or two fights, she will have the little extra tick. He still has a lot of business to win. »
“We are about to live beautiful moments, continues Larouche. Quebec too, I think. Quebec was looking forward to this new energy, from someone who is very down to earth, passionate about his sport, and who achieves success. »
Coach Danielle Bouchard, available for a few minutes on the phone during recess at the school where she teaches, speaks of a “nice surprise”.
“At the start, we expected a title defense” against Yesenia Gómez, she explains. “When Yvon saw this opportunity, we jumped in with great enthusiasm. We are in the momentum. Now is the time to do it. There’s a door that opens and you have to go 300%. »
A healthy “nonchalance”
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Kim Clavel
It’s now been a little over a month since Kim Clavel is world champion in the mid-fly. Today she speaks of “pride”.
” I am proud. It’s rare that people say “I’m proud of myself”. But it’s not just me. I am proud of my team. Everyone, from near or far, was important in this preparation. »
Now that her opponents’ eyes are on her, does she feel the pressure?
In this context, Clavel believes that his “nonchalance becomes a quality”.
“I have the belt. I know that there are people who will want to come and take it away from me. I know I’m going to have tough fights. But I’m the kind of person who lives hand to mouth. I’m taking it one step at a time. I know I deliver the performances when it’s time. »
Kim Clavel officially resumed training on Thursday. The day before, she had received her belt in a “leather bag bag” from the hands of Yvon Michel at Place Bell.
The boxer took advantage of this break to go camping on horseback with her mother. She also took part in the Mont-Sainte-Anne rodeo, “a return to her roots” for someone who grew up on a farm in Joliette.
She celebrated her title by being invited to “eight or nine dinners”. “I didn’t pay, it was fun,” she whispers, laughing.
“I’ve done a lot of little things that I never have time to do. For me, it was my way of celebrating. »
We asked all our questions. Pictures are taken. We let her prepare for her departure, scheduled for the same evening. What she does by talking to her publicist Claire Couturier, who accompanies her.
“Leaving the airport, do we take a taxi? she wonders.
“Kim always gives his maximum”
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Kim Clavel
It’s still early to know what exactly Kim Clavel will have to work on ahead of the clash against Mexican Jessica Nery Plata. But her next opponent “has similarities” to her previous one, she said. Because Mexican boxers fight a lot with each other, explains the pugilist. “They have a similar tempo. She’s going to have a really good jab, from what I’ve seen. She has a good front hand hook. High hands are going to be super important. Footwork will be too. She really likes to stay in the center of the ring. I’m going to have to walk around, so I’ll need good legs. “Besides, it would be “utopian” to believe that the Quebecer will train even harder than before, according to Stéphan Larouche. “Kim always gives his best. It gives good results. […] We have a good recipe. We know how it works. We are going to repeat essentially the same cases with adjustments on the strategic level. »