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Cloutier’s Canada Corner
Alvarez Keeps His Promise;
Beats Bute By TKO
By Daniel Cloutier
Photos: Robert Lévesque
QUÉBEC CITY - The Montrealer Colombian Eleider Alvarez
promised to his fans to beat the Montrealer Romanian Lucian
Bute before the end of the sixth round, and he kept his
promise. Alvarez won this WBC light heavyweight elimination
bout by TKO in the fifth round, Friday evening in the ring
of the Videotron Centre in Québec City.
Alvarez, who is still undefeated (22-0-0), has now the
guarantee to face the WBC light heavyweight (175 pounds)
champion of the word, the Montrealer southpaw Adonis
Stevenson (28-1-0). This world championship bout should be
organized next summer or at the beginning of the fall, in
Montréal or Québec City.
The two boxers fought carefully during the first two minutes
of the bout, but both connected a few solid punches in the
last 30 seconds of this first round.
Bute was the aggressor in the second round, and he connected
more punches than Alvarez.
Bute maintained his domination in the third round, and
Alvarez finished the round with a forehead’s cut.
In the fourth round, Bute had his best offensive moments
since the beginning of the bout. He got five good attacks.
But everything changed in the following seconds.
In the fifth round, Alvarez sent Bute on the floor with a
solid right hand on the chin, and Bute was clearly dizzy
when he got back on his legs. The referee Marlon B. Wright
intervened to stop the bout and declared Bute TKO’d. The
fight finished after 2.22 minutes of this fifth round.
“I waited the perfect moment to connected Bute with a
decisive punch, and the result is absolutely fantastic,”
said Alvarez right after the bout. “Bute is a good fighter,
but I knew I would beat him by KO or TKO. I told you few
days ago. I never stopped to progress technically in the
last two years, and I hit very solidly. I am at the peak of
my pro boxing career, but for Bute, it’s the end. I am ready
for Adonis Stevenson now. I just scored the most significant
win of my career, but my next fight, obviously, will be
bigger… certainly the biggest moment of my career.”
Bute seemed calm and realistic after the fight. “I got to
congratulate Alvarez for his win, said Bute. “He connected
me with a great shot to the chin. And as you know, a boxing
fight can finish on a one solid punch… and it’s exactly what
happened tonight. What is my future in boxing? I cannot
confirm anything now. I will sit with my promoter, Yvon
Michel, and my trainers, Howard and Otis Grant, and I will
decide after that if it’s the end or not of my boxing
career.”
Bute (32-4-1), who will be 37 years old in few days,
compiled a record of 1-3-1 at his last five appearances in
the ring. Bute, who was the IBF super middleweight champion
of the world between 2007 to 2012, has been involved in 13
world championships fights, Alvarez, none.
BRAIDWOOD IS THE NEW WBU HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
The heavyweight Éric Martel-Bahoeli, from Québec missed his
chance to win the most significant bout of his boxing
career. Adam Braidwood (7-1-0), a former football player
(Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL) from Victoria, British
Colombia, won the vacant WBU world title (minor title), in
beating Martel-Bahoeli by TKO in the fifth round.
The fourth round was extremely spectacular. Both fighters
tried to knock the opponent out. Martel-Bahoeli (11-7-1)
looked in serious trouble during the last 15 seconds of the
round, but Braidwood finished the round with a serious cut
over the left eye.
Braidwood attacked furiously in the fifth round, and he
provoked two knockdowns in a span of 30 seconds. For the
referee, it was enough. He stopped the fight and declared
Martel-Bahoeli TKO.
“My strategy was to jump on each occasion to hurt Martel-Bahoeli,
and I did it, said Braidwood after the bout. “Wednesday, at
the undercard final press conference, I said that my power
would make the difference in the result of the fight, and I
was right. And my patience in the first three rounds finally
paid off. It’s the most important win of my pro boxing
career, and I hope that the years to come will be extremely
profitable for me.”
Right after the bout, Martel-Bahoeli confirmed his
retirement of boxing.
LAFRENIÈRE WINS BY SPLIT DECISION
Involved in the most important fight of his pro boxing
career, the middleweight Francis Lafrenière, from Côteau-Du-Lac
(West Island of Montréal) left the ring with a big smile.
Lafrenière beat the Mexican Uriel Gonzalez by split
decision, and he won the NABO North American championship,
and kept his IBF international crown in the 160 pounds
division.
The judges scored the bout 98-92 and 96-94 in favour of
Lafrenière, and the third judges had a score of 96-95 in
favor of the Mexican.
The bout was extremely intense, both fighters threw a lot of
power shots in each round. Lafrenière chased constantly his
opponent to provoke inside boxing exchanges. However, during
the eight and nine rounds, Gonzalez looked more energetic
than the Canadian. Lafrenière finished the bout on a good
note. He had a very productive 10th round.
“I fought with a great intensity like you saw it, and I was
certainly deserving the win,” said Lafrenière. “I chased my
rival from the beginning to the end, Each time I was
attacking Gonzalez in the ropes or the corners, he was
hooking my elbows. He is a warrior, but a warrior not too
fair. I am proud of my effort and my performance, and I am
happy to know that my name will appear in the Top 15 of the
international ratings in the weeks to come. It’s going
better and better for my boxing career.”
Lafrenière is trained by the brothers Howard and Otis Grant
at the Monster GYM in Dorval, in the West Island of
Montréal.
BOUCHARD IMPROVES HIS RECORD
The super welterweight Sébastien Bouchard, from Baie
St-Paul, Québec, improved his record to 15-1-0 with a
victory by unanimous decision in eight rounds over the
Mexican Gustuva Garibay (13-8-2). Garibay was aggressive,
but Bouchard was clearly better technically and more
accurate with his punches than the opponent. The judges
scored the fight 77-75, 78-74 and 79-73 for the Canadian.
The GYM Group last acquisition, the super middleweight
Christian MBilli, from Cameroon, Africa, scored his second
win in pro boxing (2-0-0), with a win by TKO over the
Mexican Jesus Olivares (5-4-0). The fight was violent, but
M’Billi was more intense and more accurate than his rival.
Olivares was clearly in trouble in third round, than, the
referee stopped the bout and declared the Mexican TKO.
In the opening bout of the evening, the super middleweight
southpaw Dario Bredicean, from Cap Coral, Florida, stayed
undefeated (12-0-0) in beating the Mexican Alejandro Torres
(9-2-2) by unanimous decision in eight rounds. In each
round, Bredicean, who has natural skills and precision,
connected more punches than the opponent.
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