By William Dumoulin
A big local Quebec-Ontario duel and a new world champion for Quebec, this Thursday's gala was exciting for several reasons. Here is a complete summary of the boxing evening presented by Eye of the Tiger Management (EOTTM) at the Cabaret du Casino de Montréal.
In the most anticipated duel of the evening, Montrealer Steven Butler (34-4-1, 28 KO) faced Torontonian Steve Rolls (22-4, 12 KO). Many had predicted a defeat for the Quebecer. He was the underdog at Mise O Jeu. To everyone's surprise, Butler demolished Rolls in the first round demonstrating his very dangerous striking power. This will allow Steven to dream of big fights after this explosive performance against a veteran of the middleweight division.
In the semi-final of the gala, EOTTM's new signing Osleys Iglesias (10-0, 9 KOs) faced veteran Marcelo Coceres (32-7-1, 18 KOs). The latter had stood up to elites of the super-middleweight division like Billy Joe Saunders, Edgar Berlanga and Erik Bazinyan. The Cuban, however, wasted no time in his debut on Quebec soil by knocking out Coceres in the first round. Having not boxed very long, Iglesias could be back as early as May.
Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse (7-1, 2 KO) was back in the world championship 7 years after her last attempt. For the occasion, she faced former world contender Abril Argentina Vidal (10-2, 4 KOs) for the same WBC heavyweight title that had eluded her in 2017. In a hotly contested clash, Joanisse emerged victorious by split decision (97-93 X 2, 94-96). She therefore becomes the only women's world champion in Quebec.
It was a routine outing for Arthur Biyarslanov (14-0, 12 KOs) who faced Christian Palma (33-14-2, 7 KOs). The Montrealer made short work of his opponent, winning by TKO in the 3rd round.
Luis Santana (11-0, 5 KO) was back after almost 6 months of inactivity. Luis, however, did not show any rust as he won his fight by TKO in the 2nd round against his opponent, Florida resident Emiliano Garcia (19-10-1, 13 KO).
Former Olympian Mehmet Unal (9-0, 7 KO) showed us some of his technical limitations in a timid duel against Facundo Nicolas Galovar (15-11-2, 9 KO), who had previously made the limit with Albert Ramirez. Unal won the duel by unanimous decision (80-72 X 2, 78-73).
To open the gala, the two young hopefuls, Wilkens Mathieu (8-0, 5 KO) and John Orobio (7-0, 7 KO), were back in 6 round fights. Both won their respective duels against Patrik Fiala (8-5-2, 5 KO) and Cristian Gonzalez (12-20-1, 6 KO) by TKO in the 2nd round.
Eye of the Tiger will be back on April 11, again at the Montreal Casino, when it will present a 100% Quebec duel between Erik Bazinyan (32-0, 23 KO) and Shakeel Phinn (26-3-1, 17 KO).
