Quebec Scene: Benoit Gaudet, Bute, Pascal, and more

by Hans Olson

Drummondville’s Benoit Gaudet was originally scheduled to fight the undefeated Logan McGuinness at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on August 27, but that date has now been pushed back to a tentative date of October 22. Gaudet comes off of a technical decision victory he earned against Adrian Verdugo this past March. In that fight, Gaudet suffered a terrible cut that forced the fight to end prematurely. “The cut right now is perfect,” said Benoit in a recent interview I had with him. “I had to take a break from getting hit to be sure that the cut would be good and it’s perfect now.” The fight against Logan McGuiness, who hails from Ontario, is to bring intrigue to fight fans across Canada. It will be another opportunity for the experienced Gaudet to show his ability and class, ability that has taken him from the Olympics in Athens to the bright lights of Las Vegas and everywhere between. “When you have the opportunity to go to the Olympics, it means a lot for an athlete,” reflected Benoit. “As a personal experience, it shows that you had done a lot and had the talent to reach the highest step in the sport. I did whatever I could to reach all my goals and that’s the way I see it. I think that every boxer who had the chance, or took the chance to go to the Olympics can have a good dream of professional boxing. I had that dream too, and I think that brought me to the highest level, and now I have to get back there.”

That highest level was a fight against Humberto Soto in Las Vegas on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao vs. Ricky Hatton back in May of 2009. Benoit Gaudet still strives for another World Title opportunity.

“I did a lot of things that I wished I could do. I’ve been to Vegas, I’ve been to a World Championship. Now I want another shot.”

A strong win against a good young fighter such as McGuinness will help him get there.

As I mentioned last week, Antonin Decarie will return to action on September 23 to Montreal’s Centre Bell as Groupe Yvon Michel re-launches its “Fast and Furious” boxing series. On a card that already features Decarie, Eleider Alvarez, Oscar Rivas, and Didier Bence, more names were announced. BoxRec_Canada first reported that Manolis Plaitis, Ahmad Cheikho, and Abdou Sow will all see action as well. Opponents for each fighter are TBA.

Finally, there have been many news reports this week concerning Tavoris Cloud as a potential opponent for both Lucian Bute and/or Jean Pascal. As mouthwatering as those match-ups are…and as excited as I was when I first heard the rumor of Bute taking on Cloud at a catch weight (heck, I even tweeted my excitement at that rumor), it should be taken with a grain of salt. Could either fight happen? It’s possible. I still feel that Glen Johnson will ultimately be the opponent Lucian Bute will face in November.

As far as Tavoris Cloud/Jean Pascal? A lot is still up in the air, but I can assure you that the derogatory quotes from Cloud’s team (google ‘em if you care) could not be further from the truth. Stay tuned.

follow Boxing Insider’s Hans Olson on Twitter @hansolson