Mary Spencer turned professional with one goal: to add a world championship title to her three amateur titles. She has surrounded herself with one of the best teams around and she won’t turn down any help. Especially not that of his spouse.
Spencer and lawyer Marie-Christine Levasseur met four years ago and have been married since November 2019. Before Spencer came into her life, Levasseur knew nothing of her successful international career, nor did she knew boxing.
That did not prevent her from partly guiding her sweetheart’s camp in view of her fight for the International Boxing Organization (IBO) super-welterweight belt which she will deliver to the Belgian Femke Hermans on December 16 at Center Gervais Auto in Shawinigan.
“She’s very observant, a lot more than I am,” Spencer told The Canadian Press earlier this week. I don’t think she tries to help me the way she does or thought she could, but she pays attention to boxing because I box. So I’m lucky to have an extra pair of eyes. She sees things which, once she has pointed them out to me, seem obvious to me and which sometimes should be to a trained eye.
“She sees things that people in boxing don’t see or no longer see. That, or she’s just a lot smarter than us! No kidding, it’s a fresh take on things we do all the time. »
Spencer tells an anecdote that made him realize that his wife saw things from an angle that she did not even dwell on herself, such as her style and her physique, in particular.
“We were watching a gala a few months ago, and she pointed out to me that some of the boxers, including Roberto Ramirez and William Zepeda, had the same physique as me and that it would be interesting to watch them fight. Both are power hitters that have the exact same style, just not the one I was using, notes Spencer. It helped me figure out how to use my size and strength to my advantage. But I would never have thought of looking at top boxers who have similar attributes to mine before she passed me that remark.
“I absolutely don’t mean that my coaches don’t have a plan for me or don’t know how to improve me, because they do. But this is to show how she helps me. »
Ian McKillop, Spencer’s trainer, has also integrated some of the elements raised by Marie-Christine into the training of his protege.
“I’m more grounded in my style for this fight than ever before. I brought the ideas shared by Marie-Christine to the gym and sparring, then Ian added that to my arsenal. I have close to 200 fighting experience, but I feel like I’m more focused on my style on my plan than I ever have been. »
And by boxing in Shawinigan, she will do it in the hometown of her lover, who was born and raised there.
“It makes things very special to fight there,” admits the 37-year-old boxer. I smile hearing you ask that question, because none of this was planned. It wasn’t planned like that. […] If I’m not into fighting in my hometown (Wiarton, Ontario), my second choice would surely be Shawinigan. »
Difficult evening… but short
Faced with Hermans (13-4, 5 KOs), Spencer (7-0, 5 KOs) expects to experience his most difficult evening in professional boxing. She does not intend to stay up later, however, she who has only delivered 17 rounds of boxing – once more than only four rounds, eight against Yamila Reynoso – in seven fights.
“I don’t think it will last longer (than my last fights), she says. I know Femke is tough. It is the strongest, the strongest that I have faced. I expect a tougher fight. But not necessarily longer.
“We train for 10 rounds, never less. But I want to knock him out. I don’t want it to last 10 rounds. […] I already did eight rounds once and hated it! I was so angry to have fought eight rounds! »
The Spencer-Hermans clash will be featured in the gala semi-final featuring heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov. The Russian with an immaculate record of 15-0 (including 14 KOs) will put his North American Boxing Federation (NABF) and North American Boxing Association (NABA) belts into play against Michaël Wallisch (23-5 , 16 KOs).
A total of seven fights will be presented, including the NABF middleweight championship duel pitting Steven Butler (31-3-1, 26 KOs) against Joshua Conley (17-4-1, 11 KOs). ).