Boxing is arguably the cruellest sport out there. A 35-year-old young man is immensely proud, he works in the community, he produced a boxing gala that was televised in Quebec and in the US with ESPN+.
And the young man is connected with a right uppercut he never saw coming, at 52 seconds and the fight is over. FINISH Total knockout.
Yves Ulysse Jr ducked to avoid a kick when Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela caught him with the right. Ulysses fell like a bag.
It might be the last time. Some relatives spoke in thinly veiled words that Ulysses had lost his passion for boxing. How to imagine that he will have the taste to start picking again to return to heights?
It’s boring for the man. Well flat.
TELEVISION FOR “MOTHER”
Athletes don’t really change. Aeons ago, before the Internet and widespread satellite television, Tim Raines received me at his home in Sanford, central Florida.
I prepared a report for a daily newspaper. During the interview, Raines excused himself to go to the phone that was bolted to the wall. It was his mother.
“Mom has problems with her satellite. She can’t capture Expos games in training camp the way she would like,” he told me.
Then Raines had told me that he had installed a large saucer to hack into the Radio Canada signal, which was broadcasting several Expos games.
“I want mom to see me play,” Raines said before continuing the interview.
Today I get 3582 TV channels in Florida and Tim Raines wouldn’t have to pirate anything to please his mother.
But what hasn’t changed is the bond between son and mother…
PLEASE TRANSLATE INTO RUSSIAN
Last night at the casino, the giant Arslanbek Makhmudov came to me. TVA Sports has shown a documentary Le Lion Arslanbek Makhmudov more than twenty times.
Just to see the amateurs rally around him, we understand that twenty times a few thousand ends up making a lot of people.
“I saw the documentary. I didn’t understand the passages in French, but I followed the story thanks to the pictures, he told me. But would it be possible to translate the comments into Russian? My mother really wants to understand everything that is being said,” said Makhmudov.
– I will transmit the message, I replied.
So this morning the message is ready. But what struck me was the mother. Arslanbek Makhmudov could have requested a Russian version for Russian TV. For his fame. But no, it’s for mom. That his mother can be even prouder of his boy.
Same story as Tim Raines’ satellite saucer. There’s a part of man that stays a little guy…
And for those who were concerned, the message was made in the carriage on the way home.
DAVID LEMIEUX AND THE OTHERS
Some fights were quick, but the atmosphere in the casino was delicious. It helps when former world champions like Lucian Bute or David Lemieux come to a boxing gala.
Steven Butler was also like Simon Kean in the evening. Simon looked like a movie star in his sunglasses.
Lemieux enjoys life to the fullest. He wants to stay in the boxing world but hasn’t figured out exactly what his path will be like yet.
Butler helps his wife mourn the loss of her brother. He was very calm and followed the fights with his father.
Then there was the knockout of Yves Ulysse Jr…
Retirement for Marie-Ève Dicaire?
According to information from Radio-Canada, Marie-Ève Dicaire would announce her retirement as part of a project with Podium, an independent entity serving Big House sport.
It would be around Valentine’s Day, which Benoît Rioux says is celebrated on February 14 this year.
But the information is nebulous to say the least and on Marie-Ève’s side we remain discreet.
Even Marie-Ève writes to a colleague that her decision has not yet been made and that when it does, all journalists will know about it at the same time.
So I share the rumor with you and claim that nothing is confirmed.
We must not forget that Marie-Ève Dicaire is still doing well on the world stage due to the weakness of the box grids. A call from an American sponsor could provide a grant and a very interesting challenge.
We will see…
A PROJECT FOR VICTO
We’re not in the rumours, we’re in the projects. My colleague Anthony Marcotte from BPM Sports, who was hired to cover boxing matches with Jeff Jeffrey, is a guy from Victoriaville.
He made arrangements and began testing the waters for Eye of The Tiger Management to present Victo with a boxing gala within the next few months.
Mayor Antoine Tardif is very open to the idea, and according to Marcotte, Victoriaville has a strong boxing tradition. And then, like Rimouski and Shawinigan, we find a Quebec Major Junior League team.
“Not only is it interesting, but Victo’s team is called the Tigers,” smiled Camille Estephan.
Estephan also intends to present a gala in Rouyn-Noranda with the support of Roger Lavergne, his partner in Shawinigan.
