Eye of the Tiger Management was playing big on Thursday’s card at the Cabaret du Casino de Montréal. And the team led by Camille Estephan, Antonin Décarie, Virginie Assaly and Marc Ramsay won big.
Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse became the team’s first world champion since David Lemieux. Steven Butler returned to the limelight with a resounding KO on a major American network. And while he missed his first impression at the weigh-in, EOTTM’s new gem Osleys Iglesias did not miss his return to the ring with his new group, signing a quick victory.
Enough to put a smile on the faces of everyone involved.
“I was thinking that it shouldn’t end in a damp squib and I was confident that Steven would finish well,” Estephan said after the evening. “He works well with [his new coach] John Scully, he listens to him well. He has everything he needs, the experience, the power. A guy who is that powerful can turn the lights out quickly as we saw.
“It’s a real boost to the top. He was on ESPN+ in the United States, people can see that he has this asset. This power is innate, you either have it or you don’t.”
That power was quickly felt in this duel, which lasted only 65 seconds. From the first right of Butler (34-4-1, 28 KOs), Steve Rolls (22-4, 12 KOs) found himself sitting in the cables, no longer knowing why he was there.
“John wanted me to hit him with my first right. I did,” Butler said. “I don’t wish anyone any harm, but he didn’t remember I hit him. I have the power to knock out anybody in the world.”
This association with Scully was desired by Estephan. Not that Eye of the Tiger has anything to reproach Rénald Boisvert, who managed Butler until his defeat at the hands of Zhanibek Alimkhanuly last May. But the boss wanted to see Butler change his ways completely.
“It wasn’t just a question of changing coaches, I wanted him to change everything from A to Z. I wanted him to do his training camp outside, I didn’t want him to come home with young children. He’s a professional athlete and he needs to have all his concentration, to rest. That’s what he lacked to develop his tools and really experience a professional camp. That’s what he did and that’s what we saw.”
First champion
Lepage-Joanisse (7-1, 2 KOs) not only became the first EOTTM champion since Lemieux in 2015, she also became the first boxer from the stable to become champion. Only she and Artur Beterbiev currently hold world titles in Quebec.
“Vanessa, what a fight! I want to see a rematch,” Estephan said about the St-André-Avellin boxer’s split decision victory over Argentina’s Abril Argentina Vidal (10-2, 4 KOs). “It’s Women’s Day [Friday], we couldn’t have written a better script! One of the most beautiful fights I’ve personally seen.”
“I’ve really worked hard for several years and it’s finally paying off,” Lepage-Joanisse said, choking back tears. “It’s a lot of sacrifices. I’m proud of myself, I’m proud of my team. […] This belt isn’t just for me, it’s for everyone behind me.”
Iglesias impresses
As a final dish, EOTTM offered the first performance in Quebec of its new protégé. Iglesias (10-0, 9), the International Boxing Organization (IBO) super-middleweight world champion, took only 2:07 to settle the case of Argentinian Marcelo Coceres (32-7-1, 18 KOs), who had nevertheless made the limit against another Estephan prospect at 168 pounds, Erik Bazinyan, last year.
Estephan said this week that with Iglesias, Bazinyan and Christian Mbilli, Eye of the Tiger was the best-positioned group at 168 pounds.
With a world champion and two contenders among the top five in the world from all four major sanctioning bodies, one would be inclined to believe so. Whether there will be room for this triumvirate in the long term within the group remains to be seen.
