Jan-Michael Poulin Wins a War

By William Dumoulin Photo Credit: New Era From the foundation of the New Era boxing promotion, the emphasis has always been on local fights. Saturday's gala, presented at the CentreExpo Cogeco in Drummondville, was no exception. Six of the seven fights were 100% Canadian matchups, including the main event featuring Jan-Michael Poulin against Sébastien Bouchard for the Canadian super welterweight title. In the main event, as mentioned earlier, the current Canadian middleweight champion, Jan-Michael Poulin (10-1-3, 2 KOs), faced Baie-Saint-Paul resident Sébastien Bouchard (20-4-1, 9 KOs) in a 100% Quebecois showdown. The first three rounds were more cautious and technical than expected, but from the fourth round onwards, a bloody war erupted as both boxers increased the intensity. Poulin, however, had the upper hand on the judges' scorecards, winning by unanimous decision (96-94 X 2, 97-93), thus becoming the Canadian champion in a second weight class. What a fight! We wouldn't say no to a rematch. In the co-main event, crowd favorite Jordan Balmir (11-2, 5 KOs) returned to the ring after 2 years of inactivity. He faced Toronto's Daniel Roach (2-4-2, 0 KOs). Balmir won the fight by unanimous decision (58-56 X 3) in a bout that was more challenging than expected. Balmir seemed bothered by a knee injury. Terry Osias (13-0, 6 KOs) also returned to the ring after about 1 year of inactivity. He faced Marcos Nicolas Karalitzky (8-9-2, 2 KOs) in a 6-round fight. Terry dominated the bout from a distance and won by unanimous decision (59-55 X 2, 60-54). In a clash between two boxers making their professional debuts, former mixed martial artist Olivier Rhein (0-1, 0 KOs) faced Drummondville's Steven Généreux (1-0, 1 KO). Généreux sent Rhein to the canvas in the 2nd round, and the referee stopped the fight in the 3rd round. Repentigny prospect David Canuel (0-1, 0 KOs) made his professional debut against Montreal's Justin Grant (2-2, 1 KO). Grant showed he was much better than his record, sending Canuel to the canvas in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. The fight ended with a unanimous decision victory for Grant (39-35 X 3). Drummondville native Jean François Mosimann (0-1, 0 KOs), who previously fought professionally in kickboxing, faced Carl Demontigny (1-0, 0 KOs). Once again, both boxers were making their professional debuts. Demontigny demonstrated his technical superiority, winning by unanimous decision (38-36, 39-35 X 2). To open the gala, Simon Risler (0-0-1, 0 KOs) faced southpaw Guillaume Gosselin (0-0-1, 0 KOs) in a 4-round super welterweight bout. Although both boxers were making their professional debuts, this was a rematch of their amateur Golden Gloves semi-final bout. They will likely face each other again, as this time, the fight ended in a draw on all three judges' scorecards (38-38 X 3). 4o

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