By Hans Olson
This Saturday evening in Pointe-Claire, Quebec, Camille Estephan’s Eye of the Tiger Management will hold its first gala in their upcoming Fight Club series featuring fast-rising Haitian-Canadian Dierry Jean (21-0, 14 KOs).
Originally slated to take on Mexico’s Cosme Rivera, Jean will now face the battle-tested Lanardo Tyner (25-7-2, 15 KOs) in a scheduled 12-round affair. Delays in obtaining a visa forced Rivera off the card, leading to the replacement of Tyner.
“We prepared for Cosme Rivera—Lanardo has a different style—but he’s a pressure guy, he’s going to come to fight,” said Estephan to Boxing Insider Thursday.
“[Tyner’s] going to definitely give a good performance. He fought Jessie Vargas in February; did an amazing job, went 10 rounds. I saw him fought [Kevin] Bizier in December…he has a lot of experience. He’s fought Lamont Peterson, Saul Alvarez…you know…so we’re excited about the bout. I don’t think the quality has gone down.”
At stake will be the vacant NABF jr. welterweight title. With a win, Dierry’s momentum toward the best in the division will continue.
“We’re looking for a top ten rating, maybe a top five. We want to be up there as a contender. He’s ready to move on to the best.”
The evening’s co-feature is an intriguing one, and it features Nicholson Poulard (17-3-0, 8 KOs), older brother of former light heavyweight champ Jean Pascal.
Idle since scoring a decision victory over Frankie Santos on the undercard of Pascal/Hopkins II last May, Poulard has a tough challenge in front of him. He’ll take on the hard-hitting Lionell Thompson (12-0, 8 KOs), an undefeated talent out of Buffalo, NY.
“This fight is a win, win, win,” says Estephan.
“It’s a three-way win because both guys come to fight, they know they need to win, and boxing is going to win as well. When I say three-way win, [the winners are] boxing, Nicholson and Thompson. On paper, it looks like a very entertaining fight. [They each have] different strengths. We’re very confident. I think Nicholson is ready as ever; he’s in the best shape of his life, he’s hungry, and he had a great camp.”
Another name to watch out for fighting Saturday is Ghislain Maduma (7-0, 4 KOs), who goes for the 8th win of his career against Mexico’s Aldo Valtierra (26-14, 14 KOs).
“Again, we’re not taking any easy fights. Aldo Valtierra, I think he fought Tony Luis in a split decision. He fought [Arash] Usmanee and he gave him 8 close rounds, so it’s a test,” continued Estephan. “We want to see where Ghislain’s at. We’re moving him fast. I think he’s ranked number one in Canada and he’s only had 7 fights. He’s ranked in the top echelon of boxing with only 7 fights. We’re very confident when it comes to Ghislain. What he showed us in the gym…his conditioning, his discipline, his work ethic, his sparring…I think he’s the best kept secret in Canada.”
Baha Laham (8-0, 3 KOs), who had a tough fight last month in a draw against Leonus Marie Francoise on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights, looks to bounce back this weekend against Hungary’s Arpad Vass (8-4, 6 KOs). With previous trainer Russ Anber unable to attend to Baha full-time, Camille feels that the proper changes were made to move past April’s minor setback.
“[Lahman’s looking] very sharp. I think him and [new trainer] Hercules Kyvelos work very well together. It seems to have clicked very well, the chemistry is there. Howard Grant and Otis Grant have helped—and Baha is extremely talented. He needs to be focused, he needs to be pushed, and he needs to be in a set up like he is right now, and I think he’s going to show his abilities in this fight.”
The sold out show rounds out with Ahamad Chiekho vs. Laszlo Komjathi; Ibrahim Kamal vs. Aboubeker Bechelaghem; Chris Plaitis vs. Csaba Toth; and Schiller Hyppolite vs. Ferenc Sarkozi.
Boxing Insider’s Hans Olson can be reached at hanswilliamolson@yahoo.com Follow @hansolson