By GM Ross: Canadian middleweight standout Sebastien “Double Trouble” Demers returns to action Saturday night, March 6, against the well travelled William Joppy at the Montreal Casino, headlining what looks to be another top-rate GYM promotions event. Demers record sits at 30 wins, with only two defeats, one of which came in an IBF middleweight title bout with Arthur Abraham. Undefeated in his last five, Demers is coming off a tough unanimous decision victory over Nicholson Poulard for the NABF super middleweight title. Poulard forced Demers to dig deep, knocking “Double Trouble” down in the first round and regularly landing big shots early in the bout. Poulard’s effectiveness, however, faded as the fight progressed. Demers persevered, found rhythm with his jab, scored a knockdown and connected consistently with uppercuts to take the decision.
That being said, Poulard gave Demers about all he could handle, exchanging punches to the final bell. William Joppy had quite the opposite experience his last time out, suffering a tenth round TKO defeat to IBF super middleweight king Lucian Bute. Joppy, the former WBA middleweight champion of the world, will certainly enter the ring the more experienced of the two, having defended his former crown eight times between 1996 and 2002, losing and regaining the title twice during the same period. Furthermore, Joppy has fought and lost to, Felix Trinidad, Bernard Hopkins and Jermain Taylor..
The undercard features several intriguing matchups, featuring some of the nation’s best. Nicholson Poulard makes his return against the more experienced Larry Sharpe of Pine Falls, Manitoba. Sharpe has lost three of his last five, but has earned stoppages in his last two performances. Poulard will be looking to get back to his winning ways after his aforementioned loss to Demers in November. The current Canadian Boxing Federation (CBF) super middleweight rankings have Sharpe and Poulard ranked second and fourth respectively, meaning the winner will be creeping up on David Lemieux and a shot at his Canadian super middleweight title.
In other action Logan McGuinness, the CBF’s number two ranked lightweight, takes on former FECOMBOX super featherweight champion Pedro Navarrete of Mexico in an eight round affair. McGuinness comes into this bout a perfect 9-0-0, while Navarrete has lost two of his last three and fought only twice since 2008. A win should all but guarantee McGuinness a shot at the vacant CBF lightweight title in the near future.
Kevin Bizier of Saint-Emile, Quebec, is keeping busy, fighting for the second time in as many months. Fresh off his first round TKO victory over Michael Springer in February, Bizier will attempt to increase his perfect record to 9-0-0 with a victory over hard-hitting Mexican journeyman Noel Cortez. Both men sport a knockout percentage above fifty, so don’t blink, this one could end quickly.
Finally, Samuel Vargas of Ontario and Pascal Leonard of Quebec – two fighters in the early stages of their careers – will meet in a six round contest.