What’s Happening with Alexis Barrière?

By William Dumoulin
Photo Credit: Martin Alarie – Journal de Montréal

The career of Alexis Barrière, one of Quebec’s most promising rising stars in boxing, soared in 2023. After a busy 2022 with four fights—including an explosive victory over Adam Braidwood in Saint-Hyacinthe—2023 saw this heavyweight add three more wins to his record, bringing him to 11-0 with nine wins by knockout. However, he hasn’t fought professionally since, prompting the question: What’s happening with Alexis Barrière?

An Olympic Bid

At the end of 2023, the Quebec native made waves by choosing to pause his professional career in an attempt to qualify for the 2024 Paris Olympics. In the Canadian qualifiers in Montreal, he triumphed over David Johnson, David Ricot, and William Blackmore, securing a spot in the Olympic qualifying tournament in Italy in March 2024. There, he won his first two bouts against Davit Chaloyan and Gerlon Congo, but his journey ended in the quarterfinals against Djamili Aboudou Moindze.

Following this defeat, Alexis announced his return to the professional circuit, ruling out the possibility of pursuing another qualification at the tournament in Thailand in April. What wasn’t widely known at the time was that his pause in professional boxing to pursue an Olympic berth masked an underlying promotional dispute.

The Promotional Dispute

This Olympic break was partly driven by a disagreement between Barrière and his promoter, New Era Fighting and Promotions, led by former fighter Yan Pellerin. Alexis believed he was free from any contractual obligations, while Pellerin argued that he was still bound to their organization. The dispute became public when Groupe Yvon Michel announced they had signed Alexis Barrière in the summer of 2024. This triggered an open feud between the two promoters, with the matter now expected to be settled in court. On June 20, Yvon Michel told Radio-Canada journalist Jean-François Chabot, “Yan Pellerin is lying. If he’s not happy, let him sue us. We’ll give him a good beating.”

What’s Next

While awaiting a resolution, fans are eager to see Alexis Barrière back in the ring soon. He remains one of Quebec’s brightest boxing prospects and is under the guidance of SugarHill Steward, one of the world’s top trainers. For the sake of his career—and Quebec boxing—it’s essential that this dispute be resolved swiftly so Barrière can continue his professional journey.