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It’s been a long time since Kim Clavel felt this good after a fight. The last time was more than two years ago when she became WBC light flyweight world champion after her near-perfect performance against Yesenia Gomez.
The stakes of her Thursday evening clash against Mayela Perez in the final of a Groupe Yvon Michel gala presented at the Cabaret du Casino de Montréal had nothing to do with all those she has delivered since that time, but it had the merit of restoring great confidence in him.
If Clavel (20-2) had rediscovered the pleasure of boxing after her last victory against Katherine Renee Lindenmuth, this time she had confirmation that she has what it takes to return to the world championship against Yokasta Valle, Yesica Nery Flat or even… Gomez.
“It feels good physically and mentally,” said the Quebecer after winning by unanimous decision of the judges (100-90, 100-90 and 100-90). I’m smiling, my face doesn’t hurt, my nose isn’t swollen… it sometimes makes the day easier! »
During the 10 rounds where Clavel had to fight with Perez (20-28-4), she had the chance to demonstrate the effectiveness of all the shots she has worked on in training in recent months. The ex-champion notably maintained a particularly high pace.
Increasingly comfortable, she even allowed herself to throw several uppercuts from mid-fight, a move very little present in her arsenal during her two defeats against Nery Plata and Evelin Nazarena Bermudez in January 2023 and in October of the same year.
“I’m happy, I managed to practice everything I wanted to practice,” Clavel explained. You can practice whatever you want in the gym, but I wanted to do it under stress in front of an audience. It’s not the same thing at all. That’s what I’m most proud of.
“I haven’t had easy opponents until now since the start of my career. I had in front of me a veteran with good defense and who moved well. I was the best in every department, but she didn’t get knocked out very often. »
In addition to being extremely effective on offense, Clavel was also brilliant on defense, particularly in the sixth round, while Perez was aggressive and creative.
“She’s a girl who certainly wasn’t going to be intimidated with over 50 career fights,” Clavel concluded. She came here to work hard and the fight could have easily gone 15 rounds. She has all my respect. She gave everything she had. »
The 34-year-old Quebecer does not know when she will get back into the ring, but it will not be January 30, the date of the next GYM event held at the Cabaret du Casino. She has fought 3 10 round fights this year and needs rest. On the other hand, she hopes that her next duel will be a championship one, at 105 or 108 pounds, whatever.
Mission accomplished for Houle
Marie-Pier Houle also positioned herself well for a championship fight at the start of next year by beating Anissa Benyoub by unanimous decision (99-91, 98-92 and 98-92) at the end of a ten-round confrontation which was quite tough at times.
Houle (11-1-2) has thus admirably turned the page on her last contested outing last June where she had to stick to a shared draw against Karla Ramos Zamora.
The boxer from Terrebonne quickly established herself at the start of the fight by managing to land several rights to the face of her French opponent, but Benyoub (7-5) managed to heat up Houle in the fifth round by responding blow for blow with several rights.
The two athletes then exchanged a few headbutts, but Houle ended up having the upper hand because of the variety of his attacks and his more frequent movements.
“My energy was there. I tried to box her a little more and to rush the attacks less constantly, said Houle after her victory. That was the goal and it’s mission accomplished!
“Things are changing and the future looks good for me. But I let things go. »
A sick boxer in the ring
Extremely unusual occurrence during the fight between Montrealer of Ukrainian origin Kirill Bazhenov (1-0, 1 KO) and Alex Gagnon (0-2-1), when referee Érick Philippeau had to put an end to into hostilities at 2:57 of the 2nd round after the Chicoutimi boxer vomited in the ring after receiving a combination. Bazhenov had completely dominated the clash up to that point, the speed and precision of his strikes making all the difference.
Looking for a contract with GYM, Loïck Lahaie (1-0) for his part got off to a good start in his three-duel trial with the organization by beating Ruslan Barma (0-1) by unanimous decision (40-36, 40 -36 and 40-36). The middleweight from Sherbrooke dominated the majority of the exchanges as the three judges’ cards indicate, but Barma was nevertheless able to hit the target a few times during the clash. Lahaie, who is 22 years old, moved to the pros after participating in the last Canadian Olympic trials.
In the opening, Facson Perrine (1-0, 1 KO) did not necessarily have a good first round among professionals, but the light heavyweight from Mauritius who lives in Yamachiche quickly recovered to defeat Drew Stuve (1-1) by referee stoppage at 2:16 of the 4th round. In a fight where defense had been resolutely forgotten in the locker room, Perrine took advantage of the fact that his Alberta opponent was using his face to block punches to redeem his false start. He finished the job with a right, while Stuve struggled to stand, which led referee Philippeau to stop the duel as soon as he was found on the ground.