(Manchester) Between her training and her promotion obligations, Marie-Ève Dicaire does not twiddle her thumbs in her room.
Posted at 6:00 a.m.
Correspondent
Her entourage, made up of her coaches Stéphane Harnois and Samuel Décarie-Drolet, her physical trainer and spouse Marc-André Wilson and Alexandra Croft, promoter of the Yvon Michel Group (GYM), is organizing to ensure that she stay relaxed.
The day after arriving in Manchester, the group treated themselves to an escape game outing. The theme: Alcatraz. Unlike Clint Eastwood in the movie Escape from Alcatrazno one has managed to unlock the last secrets of the notorious San Francisco prison.
On Tuesday, the merry band went to a cricket batting cage. According to his comrades, after karate and boxing, Dicaire will not make a third career in this sport which would have been born in England.
“As much as we push in the ring to make her the best possible, we want her to have the most fun outside,” explained Décarie-Drolet. We don’t want it to be hard on her. We want it to be motivating. Over time, we realized that it was a recipe that worked well with Marie-Ève. »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY SAMUEL DÉCARIE-DROLET
Marie-Eve Dicaire
After living two and a half years interspersed with rib, knee and Achilles tendon injuries, Dicaire finally feels in perfect health when it comes to facing Natasha Jonas for the unification of the titles at 154 lbs.
“We really pushed the machine and in the end, it mortgaged me much more than anything else,” she noted of this period which led to her only defeat, against the American Claressa Shields, and her last victory, in December, against Cynthia Lozano.
Physically, Wilson assures that his protege is in the shape of his life. “She could easily do 25-30 rounds,” said the one who is sleeping apart for the English stay.
In short
Not for the meek
During his first stay in England, trainer Stéphane Harnois immersed himself in the local boxing culture. In the small gym where his protege refines his preparation in Manchester, he discovered pugilists who take the sport seriously. “Just the faces of the guys, you see they are not soft, he testified. Once the only door closes, it is certain that when they do sparring, these are not just small blows. This is let’s go, we go to who better better. It’s very old school. »
Like in Montreal
Inspired by the passion of my colleagues Jean-François Téotonio and Richard Labbé, I attempted a visit to the National Football Museum in Manchester. Unfortunately, only the shop was open at the end of the afternoon. I bought myself a Manchester City toque, whose record is almost as sparkling as that of the Boston Bruins (10-2-1). Just opposite, a large covered and refrigerated ice rink welcomed a few curious people who came to break their skates. The sun was breaking through the clouds and had dried the greasy surface of the asphalt. With a thermometer close to 15°C, it looked like what we’ve seen in Montreal in recent weeks. Nothing inspiring for the still empty Christmas market.
Waiting for the Snickers
Unless he takes a furious urge to devour a display of Snickers bars, his favorite food after the weigh-in, Dicaire will have no problem respecting the 154 lb limit Friday noon. The Saint-Eustache boxer even brought forward the three-day weigh-in before the fight by a few hours on Wednesday. The scale showed just under 158 lbs, even though she was still dressed. Her nutritionist advised her not to reduce her diet too quickly. “She’s going to have lunch the morning of the weigh-in,” said coach Samuel Décarie-Drolet.