“Defeat is often a spice of victory. It has happened many times and history proves it”. The phrase comes from Stéphan Larouche, Kim Clavel’s manager.
If there is anyone capable of measuring the condition and specifically the work that needs to be done to take Kim Clavel to other heights, it is him.
He was with Eric Lucas after his volley against Mikkel Kessler in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was also with Lucian Bute the night Bute came to meet the journalists in Nottingham, UK. He had just eaten a spanking on Carl Froch. He was completely defeated. Landed.
“The circumstances were different. Lucian Bute had more international experience. He had lived through several title defenses. The same goes for Eric Lucas. Kim, she suffered her first loss at a high level. She has yet to digest this defeat, analyze what was good and bad in the fight and learn the lessons that will allow her to rise even higher,” declared Stéphan Larouche yesterday morning.
A BIG FIGHT
“And then there are all kinds of defeats. Sometimes it’s a volley. But Friday was a great fight, tight to the end. Danielle Bouchard, her trainer, has equipment to hone her technique.
And Kim has a promoter who has the imagination and the connections to further his career,” Larouche said.
We talked about Sugar Ray Leonard’s big fifteen-round loss to Roberto Duran. And how, with a few changes, Leonard ousted Duran in New Orleans six months later.
However, it has to be said that Duran had helped him by leaving him with a carbine baloune between the two fights.
And by Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier at Madison Square Garden in New York. Ali returned to win back the World Championship twice more.
Boxing history is full of great boxers bouncing back from defeat. Aside from Floyd Mayweather and Rocky Marciano, they’ve all lost a fight in their careers.
Maybe Artur Beterbiev will follow suit, but in his case it’s far from over.
VICTORIES IN WOMEN’S BOXING
Don’t let anyone come and rant about women’s boxing. Kim Clavel lost. It’s true and Yesica Nery Plata deserved the win. She was tougher, stronger and hit just as often but much harder than Kim Clavel.
But who would dare say this ten-round fight isn’t one of the good fights of the last twelve months? And not just in Quebec.
We were treated to a technical demonstration, notably from Clavel, courage, aggressiveness, strength from Plata and also coaching since the TV showed us Danielle Bouchard between attacks. Listening to his instructions it was easy to understand where the fight was in his mind.
And we understood from the seventh round that Clavel could still get a draw, but that the win became problematic.
In any case, Mario Cecchini, the former president of the Alouettes, could forget the dirt of his dismissal for half an hour. He was the host’s guest.
THE PAIN OF DEFEAT
Kim Clavel cried profusely at a press conference. Whether man or woman, defeat hurts. We talked about Lucian Bute and Eric Lucas. And Jean Pascal after Sergey Kovalev, do you think he wasn’t in pain?
That Clavel cried is quite true. It was she who struggled, she who fought, and she who faced the agony of defeat.
Don’t think the Clavel clan was taken by surprise either. Two days before the fight, Stéphan Larouche only said to me: “We have a real challenge ahead of us. She’s got a big left hook.” He could have added “and a good jab.”
As his manager points out, Kim Clavel is still young. There are many good boxers in her category. Boxing is cruel, but it’s a sport. Defeat is not the end of everything; Proof, Yesica Nery Plata has two defeats in his record.
That didn’t stop Boxrec from making it number one in the world.
The Judge by Marie-Pier Houle
GYM loses its last champion. But there is a rematch, which is very possible. And this Mazlum Akdeniz, who won a one-sided round of ten against his Mexican of the evening, can certainly see progress. In any case, he is energetic and in great form.
The other point worth mentioning is the fight between Marie and Pier Houle. The young woman has an athletic build, ideal for boxing. She was well prepared and won a relatively close fight.
But how could a judge give Madame Houle all rounds? And it seems to me that these hasty judgments are all too common in the world of Régie des alcools, des Courses et des Jeux.
Was Marco Bergeron there?
IN NOTEBOOK | Richard L’Écuyer had also predicted a victory for Plata. And to reassure my old friend Jean-Charles Lajoie, my accreditation was naked. Claire Couturier remains a great pro.
