Women’s boxing has won its bet. A bit like tennis and golf, it is perceived on the same level as its male counterpart, to the point where an evening without a women’s fight can seem “empty”.
Take the latest Eye of the Tiger Management (EOTTM) gala. Although the evening was excellent, a few fans on site — and a few colleagues from the media section — pointed out this absence.
And this is not a criticism of EOTTM, which gives pride of place to female boxers in its stable. But here it is: when you see the best in the world inscribed on the awnings of Wembley Arena or Madison Square Garden – as happened last weekend in New York, last month in Laval, as well as in December, in Shawinigan — their absence on a map is all the more noticeable.
“The WBC [World Boxing Council] passed a rule that every time there is a world championship of the organization, there must be at least one women’s fight. But it’s a regulation that has been made obsolete, useless: the girls are not there because we want to give them a chance at an event, they are there because they bring significant added value to an event. noted Yvon Michel, who, with Lou DiBella, placed three women’s fights in the preliminaries of the light heavyweight clash between Jean Pascal and the German Michael Eifert on March 16 at Place Bell.
“The girls would like to box three minutes for 12 rounds (they cannot do it at the moment), but they are doing it for 10 rounds for two minutes and it is extremely intense, extremely spectacular”, continued the big boss of Group Yvon Michel, who has four boxers in his ranks, three if we take into account the fact that the former world champion Marie-Ève Dicaire should officially bow out next week.
On the March 16 card, Caroline Veyre, a 2015 Toronto Pan American Games gold medalist who competed at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, will join two DiBella proteges, Jessica Camara and Amanda Galle, to come enrich this evening with nine fights.
“Lou DiBella is probably the promoter who believed in women’s boxing the most among the major promoters on the international scene,” added Michel. Not to give them a chance, but it’s true that when we don’t have a good female fight on a card, it feels like something is missing. »
No room for maneuver for Germain
The semi-final of this gala will be ensured by the super-lightweight duel between Mathieu Germain (21-2-1, 9 K.-O.) and the Ontarian Steven Wilcox (24-3-1, 7 K.- O.).
If it looks like a local fight, it is a clash that Germain cannot escape for the rest of his career, as he tries, at 33, to return to the top 15 in the world and that he still aspires to become world champion.
“I’ve been in this state of mind for a little while, admitted Germain during the videoconference on Monday. Every fight is important to take me to the next level, in international fights. Not that this one isn’t important: it’s a big fight. But in every fight, you have to perform well and win. »
“Yvon always has plans. He knows the game and he has a long-term vision, explained Stéphan Larouche, Germain’s coach. The plan with Mathieu was to keep him active, but there was COVID, which forced the cancellation of a few galas. Mathieu, however, stayed in the gym to work on a bunch of little things.
“We are aware that these are risky fights to take, but we have come to this. These are fights that make you grow, that make you talk about you and bring you to the rankings. For the future, we have total confidence in Yvon. […] We have reached the stage where he must assess himself, see where he is in his career, ”added Larouche.
“In the Pascal-Eifert semi-final, there will be a lot of visibility for this Germain-Wilcox fight, added Michel. And we have a plan for Mathieu. A determined plan with Stephan. But for us to put this plan in place, Mathieu has to win. He’s going to have a tough fight, but a fight that’s going to ensure that, if he can overcome this challenge, he’s going to put himself in a position that’s going to allow us to move forward with this plan. Mathieu should make three fights this year. If it goes well, we’ll bring him back in the spring and fall. »