The federal government decided to reimpose, on February 28, a visa for most Mexicans entering the country, a measure that came into force the next day. With galas planned for March 7 (Eye of the Tiger Management) and March 14 (Yvon Michel Group), local promoters, who fill most of their events with Mexican boxers, quickly had to find other solutions.
Several reasons led Justin Trudeau’s Liberals to bring back a measure that they themselves had lifted in 2016. The organizations here did not have time to debate the merits: they had galas to organize .
For Thursday’s gala, presented at the Cabaret du Casino de Montréal, four fights out of five (one did not survive) that GYM had to modify, including the final, which was to oppose Mathieu Germain (23-2-1, 9 KO) to the Mexican Jesus Antonio Rubio.
“We are flexible and we have resources. There was no chance that we would cancel this gala: Mathieu, Derek [Pomerleau] and Caroline [Veyre] had not boxed since October, noted Yvon Michel, president of GYM. As soon as Alexandra [Croft, la vice-présidente exécutive] was informed of this new measure, we spent the evening on it. »
“We had bought plane tickets for everyone and we were able to cancel them all, but it was the last night to do it. If we had reacted the next day, we would have lost $20,000 in plane tickets. »
Instead, Germain will have to face Zsolt Osadan (26-1-1, 17 KOs), a higher ranked opponent. And left-handed, to boot.
“I’m on my 27e professional fight, it didn’t affect me at all, assured Germain on the sidelines of Wednesday’s official weigh-in, where all the boxers – even those found with less than two weeks’ notice – made weight. It’s no worse than among amateurs, where you prepare for a competition and you don’t know who you will face. »
“Hats off to Mathieu, who agreed to face an opponent of this quality, a left-hander, at the last minute,” praised Michel. Everyone stuck together. Stéphan Larouche [son entraîneur] Told us to find someone, that they would be ready. Our team has redoubled its efforts to present a quality card. »
For its March 7 card, EOTTM had to find opponents for three of its “tigers”. Camille Estephan’s group was able to fight two battles, but the one fought by Thomas Chabot was postponed.
“It’s not the end of the world. […] Next time, we won’t be fooled, promised Antonin Décarie, general director of EOTTM. As it is new, there is a greater demand for visas, and the delays are much longer. But it will return to normal. »
“For the last gala, we found out at the last minute, so yes, it shook us up a little. For April 11, we will instead focus on boxers from elsewhere. For the June gala, we have plenty of time to make sure everything is correct,” he summarized.
Persona non grata
From a logistical point of view, this new measure will perhaps have a positive aspect for these organizations.
“With inflation and ticket costs having increased by almost 30%, it costs a small amount to fly a Mexican, who is not welcome in the United States and who must have a direct flight to Canada. fortune: $2,000 to $2,500, Croft said. Plus, they don’t all come from Mexico. We must therefore ensure their movement to the capital. Bringing a boxer from the Czech Republic costs much less; $1400 in this case. »
“Logistics is the Alexandra department and indeed, plane tickets [en provenance d’Europe] cost less. On the other hand, Mathieu’s opponent costs 40% more than the previous one, Michel nuanced. He accepted the fight on two weeks’ notice and it came at a cost. We will see with more usual deadlines if we will be able to reduce these costs. But for the map [de jeudi], all the boxers cost us more than expected. This is not cheap labor that we had from Mexico, but we found ourselves in a situation where we didn’t have the big end of the stick with boxers who agreed to take fights at the last minute. »
It was also a challenge from an administrative point of view.
“The people from the Czech Republic, for example, it was more complicated, because we had to go over the information with each of them,” explained Michel. The RACJ requires that all medical examination results be entered one week before the fight. In the Czech Republic, the athletic commission has the habit of confirming that exams have been passed successfully without sending the results. […] It went well, but it took a significant collective effort to turn things around in less than two weeks. In British Columbia last week they had to cancel a show complete. »
Statistical dependence
Why are Mexicans used so much by local promoters? It’s simply a statistical question.
“In North America, Mexicans represent 43% of all boxers. There are 8,465 licensed boxers; 3669 of them are Mexican. In Canada, we have 225,” said Michel.
“I know that sometimes we are blamed, as promoters, for bringing in Mexicans,” he continued. But you have to understand that for them, it’s a lot of money that they’re getting compared to what they earn at home. They are also well organized. We deal with agents who ensure that athletes are in training, that their licenses and medical exams are in order. We don’t have to chase after them to keep them in line. They have someone who knows the requirements of each commission or board. »
It is therefore without any Mexican boxer that GYM will offer a five-fight card – Reid Twohey’s professional debut has been postponed to April 4 – starting at 7 p.m. Thursday, at the Cabaret du Casino de Montréal.