By Alex Pelletier - 10/26/2005
It's now official: former WBC super middleweight title holder Éric Lucas (38-6-3, 14 KO) will travel to Denmark to challenge the reigning WBA champ Mikkel Kessler (36-0, 27 KO) in January. 'Lucky Luke' hasn't fought a world-class opponent since getting trashed in six rounds by Danny Green in Montreal back in Dec. 2003. Since then, he has taken a one-year layoff and battled two third-raters, before injuring his right hand. Lucas hasn't fought since winning a 12-round decision over journeyman James Crawford back in March.
The Lucas-Kessler bout comes at a time when the WBC has ordered a bout between Lucas and the top-rated WBC contender Otis Grant to determine the mandatory challenger for Beyer's WBC strap. Grant, also based in Montreal, has been elevated to the No. 1 contender spot thanks to active wheeling and dealing from his promoter, Yvon Michel. A mega-fight between the two Canadian fighters has been a hot topic over the last few weeks, with Lucas' camp accusing Grant's backers of forcing them to take on the fight.
In the end, Lucas has given up chasing WBC champion Markus Beyer, the man who had taken away Lucas' title in a cynical split decision win back in April 2003. After being promised a September fight (which wound up to Omar Sheika) and being kept on shortlist for December, he has decided to pursue his options, which apparently didn't include a local blockbuster with Otis Grant. Meanwhile, Grant (37-2-1, 17 KO) was supposed to face former WBC titleholder Cristian Sanavia in Gatineau on Saturday, but the Italian has suffered an injury in training. His last-minute opponent will be Donnell Wiggins (25-5-2, 14 KO), a sheer step down in class from the expected opposition. However, despite being rated at the top of the WBC rankings, Grant, at age 37, can hardly afford to wait much longer before being named mandatory challenger.
Another super middleweight, Romania's Lucian Bute, has improved to 14-0 (14 KO) by stopping the rugged Kabary Salem after eight rounds. Salem, who had never been stopped in 28 pro bouts, retired claiming a shoulder injury before the start of the 9th round. Salem had been knocked down by a Bute combination in Round 8. This win over an opponent that gave Joe Calzaghe fits will continue to elevate Bute's profile as one of the prospects to watch on the world stage in the coming years.
Speaking of prospects, junior welterweight Herman Ngoudjo (12-0, 8 KO) survived a late rally to post huge win over the well-known Emanuel Augustus. After giving away most of the first ten rounds, the old trickster came back strong in the 10th, and managed to knock down an exhausted Ngoudjo with 30 seconds left in the 12th. But it was too little too late, as Ngoudjo kept his NABF title with a deserved, but close, unanimous decision.
2004 Olympian Jean Pascal continues his professional education. He has improved to 7-0 (6 KO) with a resounding first round KO of the usually sturdy Jesse Sanders, and is set to face James Crawford (he who went 12 rounds with Éric Lucas barely six months ago) on Saturday. Another 2004 Olympian, super featherweight Benoît Gaudet, is now 6-0 (4 KO) after winning an entertaining, but one-sided slugfest over Mexican Luis Obando.
Fight on,
Alex Pelletier