LAVAL, Quebec, Canada – November 1, 2022 — We are exactly one month away from the great IRRESISTIBLE II boxing evening which will be presented at Place Bell in Laval on December 1. We know that the main fight will feature two world champions who will try to unify their belts while Quebecer and WBC world champion Kim Clavel (16-0, 3 KOs) will face the WBA champion of Mexico City Yesica Nery Plata (28-2, 3 KOs).

It has already been announced that WBC Continental Americas champion Mazlum Akdeniz (17-0, 8 KOs) will face Philadelphia American Samuel “Tsunami” Teah (18-4-1, 8 KOs). .) in a semi-final that promises a lot.

A fight that is likely to steal the show is that of Marie-Pier Houle (7-0-1, 2 K.-O.) from Terrebonne against Olivia “The Predator” Gerula (19-19-3, 3 K.- O.) of Winnipeg. It’s a first 8 career rounds for the Quebecer against the former WBC world champion. Indeed, Gerula was world champion from 2009 to 2010 and she has experience of 10 world championship fights (3-7). Among her opponents, we find the great champions Jelena Mrdjenovich and Amanda Serrano. In her last fight, last October, she upset world contender Logan Holler (9-2-1, 3 KOs) by unanimous decision. Marie-Pier is very excited by this confrontation: “This fight comes at the right time in my career. I just cracked the world rankings and a win could get me a lot closer to a possible world championship fight at welterweight. You can be sure that I will be motivated and ready when the bell rings! »

The three other fights on the program will allow three future great stars of professional boxing from home to fight their first career 6-round fight. Brilliant Olympian Caroline Veyre (1-0) will meet Puerto Vallarta’s Estefania Gonzalez Franco (3-5) in featherweight. This will be Franco’s second fight in Quebec.

Montreal’s skillful Derek Pomerleau (3-0, 2 KOs) will face Guadalajara’s Gustavo Magana Rodriguez (3-1-1, 1 KOs) in middleweight and the talented and former member of Canada’s national team Eric Basran (2-0, 1 KO) of Vancouver will face Juan Carlos Ramirez Garcia (4-2) of Mexico City.

Tickets will be available on www.evenko.ca and for groups info@groupeyvonmichel.ca

You can get a ticket for the modest sum of $40, taxes included or VIP tables on the floor for six people including a gourmet meal and wine for $3,500 and $4,500 plus taxes, the number is limited. The event is therefore accessible to all!

MONTREAL (April 25, 2022) — Undefeated super lightweight prospect Mazlum Akdeniz (16-0-0, 8KO) will have an opportunity June 2nd to cross an important stage of his career as he fights for his first career title – WBC Continental of the Americas –  at the Cabaret of Montreal Casino against powerful, experienced Juan Antonio Rodriguez (32-8-0, 28KO), from Puebla, Mexico. The 24-year-old Akdemiz will already be in his third fight since his signing with GYM last December. Rodriguez, who fought for a world title in 2015, claims most notably an impressive  9^th-round knockout victory over elite fighter Mercito Gesta (32-2-2, 17KO) in 2019.

Initially, the event was scheduled for May 5, but following the loss of the main event, involving former world champion Eleider Alvarez, Mazlum was upgraded to the main event position against a high quality southpaw, the popular Canadian requested greater preparation time as well as other considerations in Quebec, prompting GYM leaders to make this decision. All May 5th ticket holders can be refunded at the point of purchase, but they will all be honored for June 2nd.

This GYM/Probellum boxing event at the Cabaret of Mopntreal Casino is presented by Miso-O-Jeu.

Popular super lightweight Mathieu Germain of Mascouche (20-2-1, 9KO) will try to extend his win streak to three, which began with his brilliant performance against Steve Claggett (29-6 -2, 21KO) a year ago. His opponent in the 10-round co-featured event, Eduardo Leonel Rodriguez (9-2-1, 4KO), from Aquascalientes, Mexico, was an upset winner of Jonathan Medina (21-1-0, 16KO) by KO by way of a first-round stoppage in his last fight.

This event will also mark the return of one of Quebec’s brightest boxing hopefuls as two-time Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympian Wilfred “Freeboy” Seyi (9-0-0, 4KO) resumes his professional career. This spectacular 2019 WBC Junior champion has every intention of picking up where he left off versus Argentinian David Benavidez (8-5-0, 2KO), who has a good amateur background including his participation in the AIBA World Boxing Series.

Canadian prospect and former Canadian National Team member, promising Eric Basran (1-0), of Vancouver is scheduled to be in his second pro fight, versus Jorge Castro (3-5-2, 1KO), of Guadalajara. in a 4-round lightweight match.

Also in action in her professional debut will be bantamweight Sara Couillard against Flor Carrera (1-0-1), from Puebla, Mexico. Couillard is the spouse of the world title aspirant Patrice Volny (16-1, 10KO). More fights will be announced in the coming days.

TICKETS ON SALE

It’s an invitation to all! Tickets may be purchased for each event on ticketmaster.ca or by contacting GYM directly by email at info@groupeyvonmichel.ca

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 organization in Canadian professional boxing. Since its foundation, GYM promoted 162 events in Quebec, all broadcast in Quebec on RDS, TVA Sports or Radio-Canada; and participated in 37 international events outside Quebec. Seven boxers have become world champions: Joachim Alcine, Jean Pascal, Adonis Stevenson, Artur Beterbiev, Eleider Alvarez, Marie-Eve Dicaire (twice) and Oscar Rivas. Seventeen GYM boxers have fought in 51 world championship fights. maintaining an excellent record of 27 -22-2. Major American television networks were more active than ever during this period in terms of coming to Quebec to broadcast the GYM’s most important events. On 36 occasions, major American networks presented a GYM event, showcasing Quebec, including HBO (8), Showtime (7), ESPN2 (10), Wealth TV (4), Spike TV (2), ESPN ( 3), CBS (1) and NBC Sports (1).

After nearly a year of inactivity due to the global pandemic, Mazlum Akdeniz will have a chance to remind people why he’s one of the top super lightweight prospects in the world.

Akdeniz, who is handled by Lee Baxter Promotions, will return to action on January 30 in Sucre, Colombia against an opponent yet to be named. It will be his first bout since a knockout win over journeyman Elliott Brown on February 8 of 2020.

With the frequency of events gradually picking up across the globe and solutions to staging safe events being generated, Akdeniz is looking to make up for lost time in 2021.

“Lee called me and he said if you’re ready, I’ll make a fight. I’m a fighter who loves to fight every month, every two months. I think a fighter should always be active. Sugar Ray said the worst thing for a fighter is inactivity, and that’s real,” said Akdeniz. “To be honest, I want to fight seven or eight times this year. In the amateurs, I was doing six fights in a week, so I’m not too worried about it. Lee said you know what, let’s take back the time we lost.”

The 23-year old currently sits at 11-0 with six knockouts, to go along with a storied amateur career coming up through the Canadian amateur system. The 23-year old came out of the unpaid ranks with a considerable amount of promise, as one of the more accomplished amateurs to come out of the Canadian program in some time. In addition to winning the 2015 Ringside Championships, Akdeniz also scored a win over Jorge Moiran Vinent, becoming the first Quebec-based boxer to defeat a Cuban fighter since the legendary Jean Pascal in 2005.

“Canadian prospects don’t get the same level of hype as prospects from other countries, but we truly believe Mazlum is as good as any up-and-coming fighter in the world right now,” said promoter Lee Baxter. “Lots of people talk about Elvis Rodriguez as the top 140-pound prospect in the game right now, but I think Mazlum will have something to say about that in the coming year or two.”

The Montreal resident has scored knockouts in four of his last five outings, and will now fight outside of North America for the first time as a professional.

“To be honest, I wouldn’t mind going a few rounds. Going a few rounds wouldn’t be bad for me, because I can still work on some things. But if it’s over in two rounds, we’ll take it. We’re not paid for overtime,” said Akdeniz.

Baxter says the plan is to keep his blue chipper as busy as possible in 2021, even if that means keeping him on the road where opportunities are available, as no Canadian province is currently sanctioning events.

“By the end of the year, I want to fight for some kind of title, even a regional title, but next year, I’ll be ready to fight for a world title,” said Akdeniz. “Fights against someone like Elvis Rodriguez, these are fights that will be meaningful in two years.”

MONTREAL, QC—Top lightweight prospect Mazlum Akdeniz added to his undefeated record on Saturday night, scoring an eight round unanimous decision over Jose Guillermo Garcia at the Montreal Casino in Montreal, QC.

Akdeniz turned in a complete performance, dominating his more experienced opponent from start to finish. His straight counter left hands and uppercuts bloodied Garcia, who is to be commended for his toughness in going the distance. Akdeniz also beat the Mexican warrior at his own game, adding a varied body attack, digging vicious shots downstairs in between his accurate attack up top.

In the end, all three judges deservedly gave Akdeniz all eight rounds on the scorecards.

“He was a good, experienced fighter. That’s what I need. I’m only 21 years old, so I’m trying to get more experience. I won every round. I’m very happy about my performance,” said Akdeniz following the bout.

The hype around Akdeniz has been building as his career as a professional under the Lee Baxter Promotions banner has evolved over the past two years. The 21-year old came out of the amateurs with a considerable amount of promise, as one of the more accomplished amateurs to come out of the Canadian program in some time. In addition to winning the 2015 Ringside Championships, Akdeniz also scored a win over Jorge Moiran Vinent, becoming the first Quebec-based boxer to defeat a Cuban fighter since the legendary Jean Pascal in 2005.

Akdeniz has been remarkably busy in his pro career. He scored five wins in 2018 alone, and has picked up two more in 2019.

“(Lee Baxter) keeps me active. I’m young, I’m hungry, and I want to fight. If I have to do it again in two weeks, I will,” said Akdeniz.

In the main event of the card, Marie Eve Dicaire successfully defended her IBF super welterweight title, scoring a unanimous decision over Mikaela Lauren. In addition, all-action slugger David Theroux, scored his third consecutive victory as he defeated Juan Orozco by unanimous decision.

“We’re very excited about Mazlum’s development, but it’s certainly not a surprise. We knew he was a blue chip prospect coming out of the amateurs, and as the Kurdish-Canadian community continues to grow in its support for him, his stock is only going to keep rising,” said Baxter.

TORONTO, ON—Top 140-pound prospect Mazlum Akdeniz added to his undefeated record over the weekend with a thrilling stoppage victory over Mexican veteran Alberto Bautista in Cornwall, Ontario.

Bautista, a veteran of 17 professional fights, attempted to apply pressure on Akdeniz throughout the fight, but was simply overmatched by the 21-year old’s handspeed and accuracy. Akdeniz repeatedly ran him into counter left hands, before turning the tides and walking him down behind laser sharp lead lefts and right hooks.

In the sixth round, Akdeniz trapped Bautista along the ropes, uncorking almost 30 unanswered punches before the referee stepped in to stop the bout.

“We already knew Mazlum was as technically sound as any fighter in Canada, but what we’re starting to see now is his killer instinct,” said promoter Lee Baxter. “It would be easy for him to simply outbox guys, especially a veteran like Bautista who knows how to survive, but he’s going out and stopping these guys. That should tell everyone that we have something special on our hands.”

Akdeniz’s amateur credentials showed signs that he would indeed be special. In addition to winning the 2015 Ringside Championships, Akdeniz also scored a win over Jorge Moiran Vinent, becoming the first Quebec-based boxer to defeat a Cuban fighter since the legendary Jean Pascal in 2005.

Now as a professional, he seeks to follow in Pascal’s footsteps in becoming a world champion.

Akdeniz (8-0, 4 knockouts) paid his respects to Quebec boxing legends on Saturday, as well. He wore a t-shirt with the name of Adonis “Superman” Stevenson, former light heavyweight champion who tragically suffered traumatic injuries in a bout last December, and is battling back valiantly to this day. Akdeniz also walked to the ring with Arturo Gatti Jr., the son of the late Hall of Famer Arturo Gatti.

“We believe Mazlum can have his name alongside the great Canadian fighters of all-time one day. We’re going to take it one step at a time, but those steps can come more and more frequently—we want to keep him as active as possible, and want to start taking steps up in competition right away,” said Baxter.

Akdeniz is expected to be back in action before the end of April.