MONTREAL (June 21, 2023) — Groupe Yvon Michel, in association with O.R. Promotions, is happy to confirm that Montreal junior flyweight Kim Clavel (17-0-1, 3 KOs) is finally returning to fight in another world championship.
The former World Boxing Council (WBC) world middleweight champion will try to conquer Argentinian Evelin “The Little Princess” Nazarena Bermudez (18-1-1, 6 KOs), the reigning International Boxing Federation (IBF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) Light Flyweight on October 7 at Place Bell in Laval, Canada. This will be the third world title fight for the 32-year-old Clavel (1-1), and the 10th (7-1-1) for Bermudez, 26.
Clavel’s third fight in 2023, coming off her May 12th victory over Naomi Arellano Reyes (9-3, 5 KOs) in another breathtaking performance. Fans remember the incredible confrontation this past January 13th with World Boxing Association (WBA) world junior flyweight champion Yesica Nery Plata (29-2-0, 3 KOs), when Clavel lost a decision as well as her WBC crown.
October 7 is the real RECONQUEST for Clavel, who gets a second chance to be crowned as a world champion by two different sanctioning bodies. She is ranked as the No. 1 contender by both the WBO and the IBF.
“My journey has not been easy, I have never taken detours, but I have shaped myself and now nothing can stop me,” Clavel said. “I want to thank champion Evelin Bermudez for giving me this opportunity to win her titles. I know that she is a great champion and that she is confident in her abilities. I’m going to need all of Quebec behind me, I trust that with my team, my perseverance and all of you, that on October 7th I will be world champion again. Thank you for your eternal support.”
“I am extremely motivated with my team to guide Kim towards the conquest of two world titles,” said Kim’s coach, Danielle Bouchard. “The task will be difficult since Bermudez is an excellent boxer. Kim, however, has the determination, perseverance, and doggedness to win those belts. Her greatest desire: to become world champion again. Together and with everyone’s support, we will succeed! »
Bermudez, fighting out of Santa Fe, Argentina, started her career in 2016 as a 19-year-old. She won her first world title fight in 2018 by dethroning Mexican Maria Guadalupe Bautista (21-11-2, 4 KOs) at her home in Argentina for the IBF light flyweight title. She added the WBO crown in 2022 with a brutal knockout of Debora Rengifo (19-11-1, 11 KOs), of Caracas, Venezuela. After seven successive IBF and one WBO title defenses, she lost by majority decision to Costa Rican Yokasta Valle (28-2, 9KO), who is also IBF / WBO world champion of the minimum division (105 pounds), in Carson, California. The latter immediately abandoned her two new junior flyweight titles (108 pounds) which allows Bermudez to win them back, this past March in Buenos Aires against previously undefeated Mexican Tania Enriquez (20-0, 9 KOs).
Now world champion once again, Bermudez is confident of retaining her crowns: “I have always said that champions must face the best and Kim Clavel is part of this group,” she commented. “She may have the advantage of fighting at home, but I am a proud and racy Argentina. I’ll give you a good show and return home with my belts.”
“To be the best, you have to beat the best,” added O.R. Promotions CEO Georgina Rivero. “Evelin is ripe for proving her eminence and a win over Clavel is the best way to prove it.”
“It is with great enthusiasm and confidence that we offer this challenge to Kim and this gift to her many supporters,” GYM President Yvon Michel remarked. “We remember the great intense and passionate fight between the two champions last January. Moreover, this one is still in the running for the 2023 Fight of the Year. The 4,000 spectators at Place Bell are still shaking. Next October 7th, the task promises to be difficult but, supported by a passionate and noisy crowd, we will have a new champion in Quebec!”
Tickets go on sale in July and will be available to purchase on line at www.ticketmaster.ca and directly at GYM at [email protected]. Details will be published shortly.
“LA RECONQUÊTE” is presented by Mise-O-Jeu, in collaboration with Bell Media.
Clavel won her WBC crown on July 29, 2022, in Montreal, beating defending champion Yesenia Gomez (19-5-3) by 10-round unanimous decision at the Montreal Casino, in a dazzling performance that unanimously delighted the people of Quebec.
At the height of the COVID19 pandemic, Clavel returned to nursing to help the elderly of Montreal. On the international scene, his courage and generosity have been recognized. She received the prestigious 2020 Pat Tillman Award at that year’s ESPY ceremony on ESPN, Time Magazine recognized her as a “Next Generation Leader” and the WBC presented her with the “Humanitarian Award.”
Other Oct. 7th fights will be announced in the coming days.
Quebec promotional tour: Kim Clavel has expressed an interest in meeting Quebec boxing fans at home during the summer. Groupe Yvon Michel has reserved August 8, 9 and 10 to set up a caravan and travel to Chicoutimi, Quebec, Rimouski, Trois-Rivières, Sherbrooke, Saint-Hyacinthe, and Gatineau. Kim Clavel will be accompanied by her coaches Danielle Bouchard and Stéphane Larouche. The president of GYM, Yvon Michel, will be on the tour as well as several boxers concerned in the gala on October 7th. More details will be communicated after the GYM boxing gala on July 27 at the Cabaret du Casino de Montréal.
#GroupeYM #LARECONQUÊTE #ClavelBermudez
ABOUT YVON MICHEL GROUP (GYM): Groupe Yvon Michel is a professional boxing promotion organization, founded in 2004 by Yvon Michel, Alexandra Croft and Bernard Barré, who are still active in the company, the most prolific in the history of professional boxing in Canada. Since its foundation GYM has set up 167 galas in Quebec, all broadcast in Quebec on RDS, TVA Sports or Radio-Canada, and participated in 37 international galas outside Quebec. Eight boxers have become world champions, Joachim Alcine, Jean Pascal, Adonis Stevenson, Artur Beterbiev, Eleider Alvarez, Marie-Eve Dicaire (twice), Oscar Rivas and Kim Clavel. 19 boxers from the organization have delivered 56 world championship fights maintaining an excellent record of 30 wins, 24 losses and 2 draws. During this period, the major American television networks were more active than ever in coming to Quebec to broadcast the most important events of the organization.
