World title contender Erik Bazinyan (32-0, 23 KOs) will face ‘The Jamaican Juggernaut’ Shakeel Phinn (26-3-1, 17 KOs) on April 11th. This means that the North Shore will face the South Shore in the Quebec metropolis, at the Montreal Casino.
“We’re not going to wait for Erik Bazinyan to get his chance, we’re going to create his chance and we’re going to force his chance [for the world title],” declared Eye of the Tiger president, Camille Estephan, whose fighter is stuck behind a Canelo Alvarez who seems to still be pulling the strings of the division, holding all four world titles.
In short, instead of waiting by the phone, Bazinyan prefers to wait in the ring.
In terms of activity, it’s hard to do better than him on a global level. Currently ranked #2 WBA, #3 WBC, #3 WBO, and #5 IBF, ‘Bzo’ will be defending his NABF title for the 7th time. Moreover, the clash against Phinn will be his 5th fight in less than 15 months, having recently defeated Godoy, Ellis, Macias, and Fox.
“I don’t want to be arrogant, but I know what I can do, I know I have skills, so for me, it’s about proving that I belong in the rankings,” stated the Armenian-born Laval native.
Respect and Honesty
During his speech, Estephan concluded by thanking both athletes for agreeing to fight “for honor,” then handing the microphone over to EOTTM’s general manager.
Equally respectful, Antonin Décarie was nonetheless more incisive.
“I have a lot of respect for Shakeel as an individual, but Erik is on another level. I genuinely believe he is one of the best in the world and that Shakeel is not in that class. So I think it will be an interesting fight, but Erik will win hands down,” he commented, believing in a possible victory for his fighter in the 7th round.
“I’m going to be the winner and that’s it,” Phinn replied dismissively, even amused by Décarie’s remarks.
Former Colleagues
In short, for the event organizers, fortunately, the fight sells itself because neither of the two athletes was interested in trash-talking. This stems from their personalities, but also from the fact that there is a deep mutual respect between the two men who have sparred together many times over the years.
“Once in the ring, there are no friends, no respect. We’ve known each other for years, but boxing is a business,” said Bazinyan, seeing nothing personal in it, just like his opponent.
“We’re both in the super-middleweight division, we both want to climb the rankings, fight against Canelo, face the elite, and make a lot of money,” said the pride of Brossard, recounting that he accepted the fight “in 10 minutes” this time.
Although the secret remained in the gym, the protege of Ontario promoter United Boxing still indicated that the sparring sessions had always been competitive. That said, he planned to step up his game in the ring, expecting the same from his opponent on April 11th.
“After that, may the best man win.”
