Kim Clavel Dominant in Her Return to the Ring - Event Summary

By William Dumoulin

Photo Credit: Groupe Yvon Michel — Bernard Brault

Continuing its 20th anniversary celebration, Groupe Yvon Michel presented its second event of the year this Thursday at the Cabaret du Casino de Montréal. Here is a summary of the evening featuring former WBC light flyweight world champion, Kim Clavel.

In the main event, in a crucial bout to get back into major fights, Kim Clavel (18-2, 3 KOs) faced Moroccan Fara El Bousairi (8-4, 3 KOs). The latter had missed weight by 1.4 lbs during Wednesday's weigh-in. The Quebecer even mentioned after the fight that she felt her opponent had an advantage in physical strength and punching power. Despite this, Kim showed her superior speed and technique to win the fight by split decision (95-95, 96-94, 98-92). These judges' scores do not necessarily reflect the reality of the fight as Clavel dominated the majority of the rounds.

In the co-main event, former world title challenger Marie Pier Houle (10-1-1, 3 KOs) faced Marisa Joana Portillo (20-19-2, 4 KOs). Portillo had never been knocked out before and had fought in multiple world title bouts. Houle still managed to apply pressure from the start of the fight, and her opponent was forced to retire after the 3rd round.

In his first scheduled 8-round bout, Quebec prospect Derek Pomerleau (8-0, 6 KOs) faced Carlos Mohamed Rodriguez (15-13-1, 6 KOs). The latter was coming off a controversial loss to the talented Joshua Frazer. Pomerleau dominated his opponent and scored a KO in the 2nd round with a big body shot. The native of Mercier expects an announcement soon regarding a longer-term collaboration with Groupe Yvon Michel.

In the most competitive bout of the evening, Theo Owusu (3-0-1, 2 KOs) returned for his first scheduled 6-round fight. For the occasion, he faced another unbeaten fighter, the southpaw Petr Novak (1-0-1, 1 KO). The bout ended in a draw (57-57 X 3) as neither boxer managed to win the majority of the rounds.

To open the gala, Reid Twohey (1-0, 0 KOs) made his pro debut against Stepan Guba (17-24, 13 KOs) in a 4-round bout. Despite an unimpressive record, Guba gave Twohey a good fight, who had to settle for a unanimous decision victory (40-36, 39-37 X 2).

Groupe Yvon Michel will present a third event at the Casino de Montréal on May 16. Mazlum Akdeniz and Kim Clavel will headline this gala. Additionally, Marie Pier Houle, Derek Pomerleau, and Abed Almoty El Safadi will also fight at this event.