Mazlum Akdeniz Remains Undefeated - Evening Summary

By William Dumoulin

Photo credit: Groupe Yvon Michel – Bernard Brault

For the final gala celebrating the 20th anniversary of Groupe Yvon Michel, held at the Cabaret du Casino de Montréal this Thursday, Longueuil native Mazlum Akdeniz (20-0, 8 KOs) faced Argentinian southpaw Sebastian Ezequiel Aguirre (19-5, 12 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round bout as the main event. Aguirre had previously lasted nine rounds against Steve Claggett during his last visit to Quebec. Here is a summary of the evening.

As expected, in the main event, Quebec’s Akdeniz won his bout without any difficulty. His Argentinian opponent came to survive rather than attempt to win. Mazlum took the opportunity to taunt his opponent several times and even conversed with the commentator in the middle of a round. A unanimous decision from the judges (99-90 x 3) confirmed the Longueuil native's victory. He even indicated his readiness to return to the ring on June 20th, expressing his desire to be very active this year.

In the gala’s co-main event, it was the second fight in two months for former world champion Kim Clavel (19-2, 3 KOs). She faced American Katherine Renee Lindenmuth (6-3, 2 KOs). It was one of the rare times Clavel was taller than her opponent. However, she didn’t use her reach advantage, finding herself in a brawl from the first round against an unorthodox and aggressive style. Nevertheless, her superior speed and technique gave her the edge. She won the fight by unanimous decision (97-93, 98-92, 99-91). Clavel expressed her readiness to return to world championship contention in her next fight but left it to her team to chart the best course to get there.

The most intriguing fight of the card was probably the all-Quebec duel between undefeated boxers Theo Owusu (4-0-1, 2 KOs) and Zacharie Loiseau (3-1-1, 1 KO). They had previously faced each other twice in the amateur ranks, each winning once. Despite competitive rounds, Owusu managed to dominate most of them and won the duel by unanimous decision (58-56, 59-55 x 2). He expressed his desire to change the mentality of boxing in Quebec, where local boxers usually avoid each other and face foreign opponents. This is partly why he accepted this fight and is ready to accept more local fights.

After several cancellations and misfortunes, Winner Bondo (1-0, 0 KOs) finally had the chance to make his professional debut. He faced Bulgarian Todor Petrov (0-2, 0 KOs). Bondo dominated from start to finish, winning by a wide unanimous decision (40-35 x 3).

Groupe Yvon Michel will return to the Casino de Montréal on June 20th. It will be the first main event for former world title challenger Marie-Pier Houle. She will face a huge challenge against Mexican Karla Ramos Zamora. Abed Almoty El Safadi, Derek Pomerleau, Reid Twohey, and Ayoub Maanni are also expected to fight on the undercard of the event.