Mazlum Akdeniz wanted to stop Argentinian Sebastian Ezequiel Aguirre in the “sixth or seventh round” at the Cabaret du Casino de Montréal on Thursday. He did not succeed in his bet, but it must be said in his defense that Aguirre did not come to deliver the performance of his life.
Aguirre (19-5, 12 KOs) spent the evening moving backwards, “along the cables and visiting the four corners,” noted Bernard Barré, vice-president of the Yvon Michel Group.
Akdeniz (20-0, 8 KOs) maintained his perfect record thanks to a unanimous decision victory – three cards of 99-90 –, but he also seemed messy at times.
“He still had heavy hands, so I had to be wary of a back hand. He’s a really sneaky guy and I have a harder time dealing with that kind of boxer. I prefer guys who are more classic, who speak more directly, explained Akdeniz. Sneaky boxers are just hooks, uppercuts. You have to be careful, you don’t want to take bad shots and end up on the mat.
“I wouldn’t have ended up on the mat, but I didn’t want to look bad. »
Taunting throughout the fight, Akdeniz sometimes seemed more determined to clown than to implement his corner’s game plan. At one point, he even addressed the ringside commentators. His focus did not appear entirely on Aguirre during this clash, which he denies.
“It’s not an amateur fight, it’s a professional fight. You have to please the television, the spectators and the viewers, the media. You have to be an artist, a showman. “That’s how you sell tickets,” he defended.
It’s not a lack of class. On the contrary, I have a lot of respect for my opponent. I even held his flag for a photo after the fight. It’s really not a question of arrogance.
Mazlum Akdeniz
Akdeniz had an excellent first half of the fight. In the fifth, he asked – rightly – his opponent to do more. The Argentinian was careful not to get involved in his game.
“He was a little lazy. He didn’t throw a lot of punches,” Akdeniz accurately analyzed.
The next three rounds were the Quebecois’ worst, as if he had lowered himself to the level of his opponent. Losing patience in the eighth, he even gave his opponent a very obvious headbutt. The referee Alain Villeneuve did not hesitate and immediately sanctioned him.
Akdeniz, however, finished the fight strong. In the ninth, he solidly hit Aguirre in the head in a combination. At 10eit was a powerful left uppercut that hit the target.
Clavel hands down
Kim Clavel (19-2, 3 KOs) couldn’t afford to give Katherine Renee Lindenmuth (6-3, 2 KOs) any hope of believing she was a boxer of the same caliber. Danielle Bouchard’s protégé can say: mission accomplished.
PHOTO BERNARD BRAULT, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Kim Clavel
Clavel was by far the best boxer in the ring and won by unanimous decision, obtaining scores of 97-93, 98-92 and 99-91.
It was my speed that made the difference tonight. I was able to work in combinations. I tried to put into practice [ma défense]but it’s difficult when you have someone who is always, always, always moving towards you.
Kim Clavel
“It was a very physical fight, but we adjusted each round. I was able to find my rhythm. We won that fight. »
The former mid-flyweight champion launched the hostilities in a dynamic manner. Several of his power shots hit the target, but Lindenmuth was able to navigate around those attacks, throwing in a few good ones as well.
Lindenmuth has a style that pleased the Cabaret du Casino crowd, constantly launching himself forward. But that came with a cost: She was often hit by the backhand of Clavel, whose combinations seemed to hit the target most of the time.
The American had her best moments in the fourth attack. She started the round with a bang and didn’t let up, hitting Clavel with some good combinations.
Clavel, however, came back strong in the fifth: two hooks, one from the left and the other from the right, landed solidly on Lindenmuth’s face in two separate attacks.
The rest of the clash was Clavel’s business. The experience and level of boxing of the Quebecer allowed her to clearly distance herself from her opponent, who no longer seemed to have both the resources and the answers to react to what Clavel threw at her.
Both boxers gave an excellent 10e round. Lindenmuth surely knew she needed a knockout. to win, but Clavel, who did not need to exchange blow for blow with her opponent, took the opportunity to show that she was the best boxer in the ring.
Winner winner
Winner Bondo (1-0) made a successful professional debut by winning by unanimous decision against the Bulgarian Todor Petrov (0-2). The Montreal lightweight controlled this fight from start to finish, his opponent just running circles around him most of the time. Petrov went to the floor in the first round after a left to the body. He claims to have slipped on the canvas; he might well be right. Regardless, he didn’t do anything worthwhile and the three judges handed out cards of 40-35.
In an exciting fight, Theo Owusu (4-0-1, 2 KOs) remained undefeated among professionals by defeating Zacharie Loiseau (3-1-1, 2 KOs) by unanimous decision. The two Montreal super-lightweights were tied in the first two or three rounds, but Owusu broke away in the second half of the fight, obtaining the favor of two judges 59-55 and 58-56 from the third.
Finally, the fight between Stéphane Fondjo (12-1, 9 KOs) and John Akurugo (18-7, 17 KOs) in the super middleweight category was canceled. The two boxers had made the weight, but it was during the medical examination that things went wrong for the Ghanaian Akurugo. His blood pressure being too high for the second day in a row, leading the chief doctor of the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux to cancel the confrontation.