High-profile local fights can sometimes be real surprise boxes and that’s exactly what happened during the clash between Erik Bazinyan and Shakeel Phinn.
At the end of one of the best fights to have been presented in Quebec in recent years, the judges were indeed unable to decide and returned a split verdict, Thursday evening, in the final of an Eye of the Tiger gala organized to a sold-out crowd at the Cabaret du Casino de Montréal.
Pasquale Procopio first gave a 97-93 card in favor of Phinn, John Woodburn followed with a 96-94 in favor of Bazinyan, then Nicolas Esnault concluded with a 95-95 which perfectly demonstrated his the pace of the confrontation. RDS.ca also had a draw verdict of 95-95.
But this result, however, looked like a defeat for Bazinyan (32-0-1), who was almost five-to-one favorite. Ranked 3rd in the WBA, 3rd in the WBC, 7th in the IBF and 3rd in the WBO at super-middleweight, the Laval resident of Armenian origin should normally have won hands down.
“I am really disappointed with what happened,” said a completely disappointed Bazinyan. I have no choice but to give credit to my opponent, but it wasn’t my night. I know very well that I am capable of doing better. I’m disappointed. I don’t have much to say at the moment…”
Both proud and disappointed, Phinn (26-3-2) was convinced of having won. Galvanized by his numerous and vocal supporters, the Brossard resident of Jamaican origin certainly offered – by far – the most inspired performance since the start of his career.
“This is probably the most frustrating result [de ma carrière], because it was my most important fight, sighed Phinn (26-3-2) as he left the ring. I’m sure I gave him his first career defeat. I really think I won that fight. It’s boxing…”
Phinn was particularly angry with himself for not having been able to stop Bazinyan when he had the opportunity in the ninth and penultimate round, when he had the latter on the ropes. “When the referee (Martin Forest, Editor’s note) spoke to me in the locker room before the fight, he told me that if he saw five-six shots and there was no response, he would stop the fight. fight,” Phinn said. “I threw ten punches and nothing happened. I thought it was over.”
“ [Si l’arbitre avait arrêté le combat au neuvième] I wouldn’t have been happy. The guys were tired, but there was no one in danger during that fight, replied Bazinyan’s trainer, Marc Ramsay. We expected a difficult fight. People knew very little about Shakeel, but he’s someone I’ve been watching for a long time. I knew it would be complicated.
“I never lied to Erik about that. I had mentally prepared him for a fight that was going to be tough and that’s what we got. We will try to understand what happened. Erik got into the fight quickly and it got physical very quickly and that may not have been to his advantage. I think Erik is a more complete boxer, but that remains to be proven…”
Phinn’s greatest feat was clearly maintaining a furious pace for almost the entire fight, which prevented Bazinyan from keeping him at bay despite a jab that was often effective. Phinn was thus able to place his big back hand on numerous occasions.
“I think I just had more heart, more punch tonight,” Phinn analyzed. In the ring, it was always me who did more. Have you seen his face? I haven’t seen mine yet, but I’m sure I’m not that bad. I cut him in the second round with a right. »
“I didn’t feel a blow that shook me during the entire fight,” Bazinyan defended. I’m not making excuses, but I just didn’t have it tonight. I’m obviously not happy with my fight. I have to roll up my sleeves and continue working in the gym. »
There is no doubt that a second chapter in this rivalry would delight fans, but Phinn is under no illusions: no one at Eye of the Tiger has any interest in offering him such a chance.
” If [le promoteur] Camille [Estephan] offers me a second fight, I accept it tomorrow morning, he said. But it’s definitely not a good thing for them. He’s classified, not me. They have every interest in leaving me at the bottom. All I want is another fight tough to move up in the rankings. I hope I find myself in the top-10. »
“True champions are able to look in the mirror and know what they need to work on when they return to the gym. If you look at it another way, you have no business in boxing, Ramsay concluded. [Les combats comme celui de ce soir] it’s part of the job. »
More than ever since the start of his career, the ball is in Bazinyan’s hands.
Noticeable returns for Martin Duval, Chabot and Gaumont
Inactive for several months, Avery Martin Duval (11-0-1, 7 KOs), Thomas Chabot (10-0, 8 KOs) and Alexandre Gaumont (10-0, 7 KOs .) all added a victory to their record by eliminating their respective opponents before the limit. Competing in his first fight since June 1, 2023, Martin Duval was at times arrogant, but still very effective against Ezequiel Palaversic (8-3-1), whom he beat by referee stoppage at 2:15 of the 4th round. Annoyed by a pinched nerve in his neck recently, the Montreal super-feather did not seem inconvenienced against his Argentine opponent. “The Future” notably allowed himself to taunt him on a few occasions because of the weak opposition offered by Palaversic, who fell after a flurry of precise blows to the head.
Also on the sidelines since June 1, Chabot had his hands full with Alfredo Jimenez Espino (6-2-1) before knocking him out at 1:42 of the 5th round. The super featherweight from Thetford Mines seemed to be heading towards an easy victory after sending the Mexican to the floor in the second round, but the latter never gave up and was even able to exchange blow for blow afterwards. Chabot finally took off in the 5th attack by tightening his defense and moving his head, which allowed him to open the machine to send his opponent to the mat. The Quebecer said he was satisfied with his performance – his first under new coach Laszlo Marien – but admitted that he was extremely rusty and often hesitant.
As for Gaumont, who had not fought since September 2023 due to an injury whose nature was never revealed and which required an operation, he easily got rid of the Tanzanian Addallah Luanja (17-12 -2) by stopping him at 1:56 of the 2nd round to win by stoppage of the referee. The middleweight from Buckingham did what he wanted with his opponent who was fighting on this side of the Atlantic for the first time before referee Steve St-Germain decided the carnage had gone on long enough. Gaumont will be back in the ring in a little over three weeks, when he will be on the undercard of the Eye of the Tiger gala in Shawinigan.
In curtain raiser, Moreno Fendero (5-0, 4 KOs) became only the second boxer to beat Nicolas Luque Palacios before the limit by winning by referee stoppage at 1:26 of the 6th round . The Montreal super middleweight of French origin sent his Argentine opponent to the canvas twice – once in the third round and again in the first minute of the sixth round – before referee Steve St-Germain put an end to it. into hostilities while Palacios suffered a flurry of blows. The victory could be costly for Fendero, however, as he appeared to injure his right bicep very seriously during the fourth assault. Further examinations should reveal the exact nature of his injury.
Finally, Jhon Orobio (8-0, 8 KOs) started a series of three fights in the space of five weeks in the best possible way by sending Cristian Palma (33-15-2) three times to the floor before being declared the winner by technical knockout at 2:46 of the 2nd round. Orobio gave Plama hell in the first round, then recorded two falls to the mat in the second before the Chilean hit him above the belt, which forced the suspension of hostilities. When the match resumed, the Montreal featherweight of Colombian origin rushed to Palma and settled his case. Orobio will play his next duel on May 25 in Shawinigan, then the next on May 6 in Montreal.
