Before the two main fights of the gala presented at the Casino de Montreal, Eye of the Tiger Management had placed its young boxers in front of interesting challenges.
This is the case of Thomas Chabot (6-0, 6 KOs) who faced the Mexican Maximino Toala (15-11-1, 6 KOs) in a six-round duel. Toala’s corner ended the duel after the first two rounds.
“I was ready for 6 rounds, but I was surprised to be told by my trainer that the fight was over,” said Thomas Chabot. I liked my performance because I was patient in my approach.
“I didn’t try to force my power shots and on my offense.”
We sometimes forget that sponsors allow boxers to make a good living from their sport. Chabot is fortunate to have a financial boost from several companies in Thetford Mines. Could the pandemic have had repercussions for him?
“It crossed my mind a few times,” added Chabot. If there was one who would have decided to stop his sponsorship, I would have been disappointed, but I would have understood. However, that didn’t happen and I’m very happy about that.”
In the other fight before the deadline, Avery Martin Duval (6-0-1, 3 K.-O.) won by knockout against Juan Esteban Avila (9-4-1, 4 K.- O.).
Beaudoin in the snatch
Upon his arrival in office, the general manager of EOTTM Marc Ramsay had promised to have competitive fights during the galas of his promotion group.
That’s what we got in the first two fights of the night. Leila Beaudoin and Luis Santana had great challenges when they returned to the ring.
Beaudoin (4-0, 1 K.-O.) won by unanimous decision of the judges (58-56 x 3) against Mexican Monica Selene Alcala (5-2, 1 K.-O.). However, we could also have witnessed a draw between the two boxers.
The boxer from Quebec started the fight well. During the first three rounds, his power shots scored points. However, she ran out of gas in the tank in the second half of the match.
The Mexican took the opportunity to regain the hair of the beast. During this time, Beaudoin lost intensity and she was less efficient in her attacks.
A good learning battle for her which will benefit her in the future.
For his part, Luis Santana (5-0, 2 K.-O.) also signed a victory by unanimous decision (59-55 x 3). The Montrealer worked hard to get the upper hand over Mexican Brandon Garcia Orozco (4-2, 3 K.-O.). His power combinations made the difference.
Back in Shawinigan
Among the rare guests of the promoter Camille Estephan in the room, there were Roger Lavergne and Claude Vallée of the Cataractes of Shawinigan.
Initially, they were to present a gala on April 9 at the Center Gervais Auto. However, with the Omicron wave, plans changed for boxing and for their junior hockey team.
“We have to finish our regular season around May 1,” said Roger Lavergne. Then there are the series.
EOTTM should now present an event in Mauricie at the end of May or the beginning of June. Arslanbek Makhmudov would take the brunt of the final while Simon Kean would have the semi-final.
Of course, the two heavyweights had to come out of their respective duels without major injury.
Before the third fight of the evening, Eye of the Tiger Management (EOTTM) paid tribute to two artists from the boxing world who passed away in the last few months. The Régie rang the bells for Martin Achard (journalist) and Denis Chapdelaine (responsible for ring design).
Although the gala was presented behind closed doors, a few boxers attended the evening. We saw David Lemieux, Steven Butler and Christian Mbilli were in the room two meters away. The three have important fights in the coming weeks.