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Cloutier’s Canada Corner
Lenny Perez: "Bizier-Campbell Will Be Fantastic"
By Daniel Cloutier
MONTRÉAL - Lenny Perez, Nate Campbell's trainer, and Marc
Ramsay, Kevin Bizier's trainer, believe that ESPN made the
perfect decision in deciding to televise this NABA
welterweight championship and IBF Intercontinental
championship presented Friday evening in the ring of the
Bell Centre. This 12 rounds bout will oppose the 5th
contender of the WBA welterweight championship of the world,
Kevin Bizier (19-0-0), from Québec City, and the former IBF,
WBA and WBO lightweight champion of the world, Nate Campbell
(36-9-1), from Jacksonville, Florida.
“I know how much Nate is determined, and I saw Bizier a few
times in action on videos, and I can tell you he is himself
a very good and intense fighter,” said Lenny Perez just
before the weigh in Thursday afternoon at the Montréal
downtown Espresso Hotel. “We have all the ingredients
necessary to make a fantastic fight Friday night. ESPN will
not regret its decision to televise that bout. Some fighters
are underestimating Nate, because he is 40 years old, but
believe me, he still one on the most complete fighter in the
world. The Dominican Victor Manuel Cayo (31-3-0) can testify
to it. He was sure to beat Nate March 24 in Santo Domingo,
but Nate stopped him in the 9th round. With two solid
punchers like Nate and Bizier, it’s difficult to know if the
fight will go to the limit or not, but we know one thing, it
will be a spectacular match up.”
Ramsay knows that Bizier has to deliver a perfect
performance Friday night. “Campbell is a dangerous puncher,
especially with his right hand, and he has a lot of skills
and experience,” said Ramsay. “Kevin knows he will need to
be very sharp offensively and defensively in each round to
beat that veteran. I told him that a veteran like Campbell,
who is still productive, will always give everything he has
in the ring to extend his career. Boxing is still a passion
for Campbell. It is obvious that he wants to surprise Kevin
and persuade HBO he is deserving another shot for a major
world title. I am agreed with Perez, the crowd will see an
intense and spectacular bout with these two great warriors.”
At the weight in, Biziier and Campbell posted perfect
weights of 146.6 and 146.2 pounds.
The two most important preliminaries fights of the event
will involve Tyler Asselstine (12-0-0), a super
featherweight from Ottawa, Ontario, and the veteran
Montrealer Joachim Alcine (33-3-1), a former WBA super
welterweight champion of the world. Asselstine will face the
Montrealer Baha Laham (10-0-1), and Alcine will fight David
Toribio (19-14-0), from Miami. The Asselstine-Laham's fight
is scheduled for 10 rounds, Alcine-Toribio for eight rounds.
The heavyweight Didier Bence (6-0-0), from Montréal, the
super lightweight Michael Gadbois (8-0-0), from
Saint-Hyacinthe, Québec, the super bantamweight Marc
Pagcaliwangan (2-0-0), from London, Ontario, and the super
middleweight Steve Rolis (2-0-0), from Toronto, will
participate to the others fights. Bence will be opposed to
Joey «Polish Thunder» Dawejko (7-1-2), from Philadelphia;
Gadbois will face Krzysztof Rogowski (5-0-0), from Warsaw,
Poland; Pagcaliwangan will fight Laslow Fekete (6-0-0), from
Budapest, Hongria; and Rolis will meet Ahmad Selemani
(0-7-0), from Québec City.
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