By Richard Cloutier
It's going to be a very busy season for GYM, who unveiled their new season schedule at a recent news conference at the NRJ Studio in Montreal. On the eve of his eighth year in operation, GYM's president presented some good news.
"Last season was the best in our history and I expect that this season will happen to be even more profitable," said Yvon Michel. "Last year was very successful with our 'Fast and Furious' series, so we decided to add a fifth event this year. And because we had the demand, we will also present a season in Quebec."
Tickets will go on sale Wednesday at noon through Evenko. Five events will be held at the Bell Centre on the 20th of October, 17th of November, 26th of January, 16th of March and 11th of May, and three events will be presented at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City on December 17th, 25th of February and 14th of April.
David Lemieux will be the main headliner in the Montreal series. As for boxers St-Émile and Kevin Bizier, they will have major challenges presented during the event in Quebec City. Antonin Decarie, Adrian Diaconu, Adonis Stevenson, Jean Dierry, Nicholson Poulard, Eleider Alvarez and Felix Diaz, in particular, will have more opportunities to thrill fans in the coming months.
"This series aims to ensure that our boxers get the optimal development to get where we need them to be, like a world championship fight," said head coach of GYM, Marc Ramsay.
Scheduled for Oct. 20 at the Bell Centre, the first gala of the series will have Antonin Decarie (25-1-0, 7 KOs) as a headliner. The boxer from Laval will face former WBC world champion Jose Luis Castillo (60-11-1, 53 KOs) of Mexico.
"I am convinced that for Antonin, it'll be a big, big year," analyzed the Vice President of Operations of GYM Boxing, Bernard Barré. "A win on Oct. 20 will allow him to return to the top ten worldwide."
This gala will be very first statement since the main combat support, the prospect Jean Dierry (19-0-0, 13 KOs), returns to competition after suffering a broken jaw, and he will also be measured against a former world champion. Dierry, whose style is regularly compared to that of Jean Pascal, will face Francisco Lorenzo (37-10-0, 17 KOs). Note that this event will be the 100th card in the history of GYM.
On the sidelines of the launch, Kevin Bizier confirmed to the press that he will see action on the card presented by InterBox on November 5 at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City.
"I should know the name of my opponent by the end of the week," he said. "It will be seven months that I have not boxed. I can not wait to go back in the ring. I trained extremely hard."