In the dressing room, Erik Bazinyan broke down in tears as he thought of his late father, Ara. He dedicated this hard-fought victory against the American Alantez Fox to him on Thursday evening at the Casino de Montréal.
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“When I was done it hit me, I had emotions and I couldn’t hold them back. I’m human, after all,” said Bazinyan, who fought his first fight since his father died suddenly of a heart attack last July aged just 52.
“He broke down in tears after the fight and I knew exactly why,” said coach Marc Ramsay.
If there’s one person at the casino who fully understands the 27-year-old boxer’s emotions, it’s undoubtedly his younger brother Emil. The latter also wanted to partly compensate for the absence of Ara during the evening.
“I tried to give all the strength that our father gave him,” said Emil, 23, recalling that Ara was always very involved at boxing nights. I’m sure I couldn’t offer everything my father gave him, but I was there to make him feel like he wasn’t alone. There are certain family gestures that only my father, he and I know… And that’s encouraging. »
Photo provided by Benoît Rioux
The brothers Erik and Emil Bazinyan.
In the streets of Yerevan
Courage. Bazinyan (29-0, 21 KOs) needed a good portion of that to defeat Fox (28-4-1, 13 KOs) by majority vote of the judges at the end of a round of 10 battle.
With cards of 98-92, 98-92 and 95-95 he defended his NABF and NABA super middleweight titles.
“Erik, from a technical point of view it has always been excellent. This time it was about something heartfelt, emotional, Ramsay noted. Eventually, it practically became a street fight. »
Erik Bazinyan knew his past better than anyone and knew very well that he carried that aggressiveness within him. He had used it in his childhood and youth in the streets of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia.
“I lived there until I was 16, it was more difficult on the street,” he said. I learned how to fight and how to be a man. Now, in this fight, I’ve shown everyone that I’m not only a good boxer technically, but also that I have courage and I can make good fights. »
“Since the beginning of his career, we’ve known how talented Erik is, but we wondered if he had the dog to go all the way,” said Antonin Décarie, general manager at Eye of the Tiger Management. You have to be able to take hits and fight like you’re in an alley. And we saw it against Fox, it was hit after hit and I liked how he reacted. »
daily thought
Above all, the Quebec boxer knows how to manage his emotions. Before and during the fight… With the win in his pocket, he put on this t-shirt with a photo of himself and his father on it, then came the defection.
“Every day when I wake up, I think about my father,” Bazinyan said of the man he considered his best friend. I tried not to think about it too much because I wanted to focus on the fight. »
It was probably best to pay tribute to him. And whatever happens, the boxer already confirms it: Each of his next fights will also be dedicated to Ara Bazinyan. He will continue to carry it in his heart every day of his life.