MONTREAL (Nov. 25, 2014) — Jean Bédard, the president of InterBox, announced that the NABF Light Heavyweight Champion, Jean Pascal (29-2-1, 17 KOs), will combat Argentina’s Roberto Bolonti (35-3, 24 KOs), instead of Donovan George (25-4-2, 22 K-.O.) next December 6, at the Bell Centre. This decision was taken after careful consideration following long negotiations with Donovan’s team. Boxing fans will also be thrilled by the undercard, which features locals Shiller Hyppolite (13-1-0, 9 K-.O.), Steven Butler (8- 0-0, 7 K-.O) and Ulysse Jr (4-0-0, 3 K-.O), among others.
Early on in the re-negotiations, InterBox inquired about Bolonti’s interest in going up against Pascal, so Bolonti’s team has been ready from the beginning – only awaiting a positive response from InterBox. The Argentinian, who has been training hard for the last two months, is motivated and looking forward to taking on the considerable challenge.
“There comes a time when negotiations have to stop and you’ve got to move forward. Pascal versus Bolonti was a scenario we’d already considered, and we think it’s the right one. Plus, it’s important for Jean Pascal to fight so he can direct his career,” Bédard explained.
“This time, I was lucky to have a good, long-term training camp for combat outside Argentina,” Bolanti said. “It would have been a shame not to have the opportunity to fight. Although his style is different than Bute’s, Pascal is just as big a challenge for me.”
So, these two fighters who were going to be in the ring with other opponents on the same evening, will – in the end – fight each other in a grand finale at the Bell Centre. Though they lost their respective adversaries, Pascal and Bolonti are both eager to win. Roberto ‘the Beast’ Bolonti comes into the fight with imposing record: 35 wins including 24 by knockout.
A striking undercard
Steven Butler vs. TBA
Never having been beaten, Steven ‘Bang-Bang’ Butler (8-0, 7 KOs) is definitely a rising star in the boxing world. This former Canadian senior champion, who will be in the ninth fight of his career, has been pretty busy since he started professional boxing on March 28 of this year.
Shiller Hyppolite vs. Norbert Nemesapati
‘Batman’ had to pass on his fight scheduled for November 21 in Sorel-Tracy, as his adversary bowed out. Now Montrealers have a chance to see him strut his stuff in the ring; this time against Norbert Nemesapati (15-1, 14 KOs). Shiller has also made it clear he’s gunning to take on Bolonti soon.
Joel Diaz Jr vs. Pedro Navarrete
The protégé of the Jean Pascal Promotions stable, Joel Diaz Jr (17-0, 13 KOs), will weigh-in on Canadiens’ territory for the first time, against Mexico’s Pedro Navarrete (28-19-3, 17 KOs).
Bogdan Dinu vs. Mickael Vieira
The scion of Stéphan Larouche and InterBox, now settled in Montréal with his family, will be concentrating on keeping his perfect record when he goes up against Frenchman Mickael Vieira (14-4, 7 KOs).
Ulysse Jr vs. Lukasz Janik
Poland’s Lukasz Janik (12-7-1, 6 K-O.), having already gone up against Jo Jo Dan, will be fighting the so-far-unbeaten boxer known for his lightning fists: Ulysse Jr (4-0, 3 KOs).
Zewski
InterBox is currently awaiting confirmation that Mikaël Zweski will be at the Bell Centre on December 6, rather than in Vegas.
Tickets on sale
Tickets for the December 6, 2014 boxing gala are available at www.evenko.ca; by phone at 1-855-310-2525 or at the Club de Boxe Champion 514.376.0980.
PPV in North America
The Canadian light heavyweight doubleheader card is also being distributed in the United Statesby Integrated Sports Media for live viewing at 8:00 p.m. ET – 5:00 p.m. PT on both cable and satellite pay-per-view via iN Demand, DirecTV, DISH, and Vubiquity for a suggested retail price of only $24.95.
The Dec. 6 card in Montreal, featuring Bute and Pascal in co-main events, will be available on a pay-per-view basis in Canada on Indigo and Bell in French and English, as well as via Rogers, Shaw and Sask-Tel in English only.
For additional information please visit www.IntegratedSportsnet.com or www.InterBox.ca, follow on Twitter @IntegratedPPV @InterBoxCA @InterBoxBute @JeanPascalChamp.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
