Was it because Steven Butler destroyed the experienced Steve Rolls in his last outing? Or was it rather because there was a thinly veiled desire to believe in a John Scully “effect”?
Still, very few observers believed that Patrice Volny would emerge victorious from his confrontation against Butler presented last week at the Cabaret du Casino de Montréal.
However, just a few years ago, Volny came close to trapping ex-Olympic silver medalist Esquiva Falcao in the web he had skillfully woven. But obviously, this did not carry enough weight in the balance with those called to make a decision.
“There actually seemed to be preconceived ideas about me,” the new holder of the French-speaking WBC middleweight belt said with a laugh in a telephone interview with RDS.caa few days after he had taken the measure of Butler by stoppage of the referee in the 9th round.
“If people had bothered to see me in action, they would have realized that I had a lot of knockout victories under my belt and more importantly, that I had never been knocked down since the beginning of my career. I knew my worth [avant d’accepter d’affronter Butler]. »
It must be said that the adage “out of sight, out of mind” fits perfectly with the 34-year-old Montrealer. Even though he fought half of his 20 fights on Quebec soil, it was outside the borders of La Belle Province that he fought the most significant fights.
The one against Falcao obviously tops the list, but there are also those against his Albert Onolunose, Ryan Young and Uriel Gonzalez who allowed him to grab minor titles and climb the ranks in certain world weight rankings. means.
“I never understood why Quebec promoters were never interested in me,” laments Volny. There will always be a question mark about this. If I joined forces with an Ontario promoter (Lee Baxter, Editor’s note), it’s quite simply because I didn’t have an offer here.
“But I don’t harbor any bitterness about it, because I always told myself that good things would eventually happen. This remains a very good source of motivation. »
In defense of the Yvon Michel Group (GYM) or Eye of the Tiger of this world, Volny did not necessarily have a very big calling card to offer when he left the amateur ranks. His name does not even appear in the database of the specialized website Amateur Boxing Results!
“I have a particular background in the amateur ranks, where I fought around 80 fights,” admits Volny, who took part in his first professional fight in 2016 on the undercard of a GYM event. I never won the Golden Gloves, often due to questionable decisions, and I never dared to register to participate in the Canadian Amateur Championships.
“It must be said that I never dreamed of a career in the amateur ranks. As I was pursuing my peer studies at that time, I was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. I subsequently took a break from my studies to devote myself entirely to my professional career. »
So here he is, almost a decade later, in a good position to get a duel that could change the course of his life. Volny is certain to see his name appear in the top-15 or the top-10 of the WBC in the next ranking update after his victory against Butler.
And if the chance to fight a big fight ever presents itself, he won’t think for very long.
“I am already 34 years old,” recalls Volny. And since a career can be decided on two or three punches, I’m not ready to say that I’m going to wait for the winning conditions to fall into place, especially since I don’t particularly intend to ‘stretch the sauce…
“That said, I have always been a patient boxer, who never believed in a knockout in the first rounds. I like to take my time and I always think it pays to be patient. »
As much as Volny’s patience has been tested at times since the start of his career, it could now be rewarded. It’s still about being a little!
