“It seems like we have a bit of pressure to make women’s boxing shine, but it’s beautiful. It’s a fight that I want to fight,” said Kim Clavel on Tuesday morning during her media training.
Clavel will be the headliner of the La Reconquête gala on Saturday, which will see her attempt to steal two world champion belts from Argentina’s Evelin Nazarena Bermúdez. Before she enters the ring at the end of the evening, five other duels will take place, including two women’s. For the second time in 2023, Marie-Pier Houle and Caroline Veyre will find themselves on the undercard.
From this gala, one fact stands out: professional women’s boxing has reached another stage, in Quebec as elsewhere.
“Marie-Eve [Dicaire] arrived almost alone, recalls promoter Yvon Michel to La Presse. It was something special, when she was at an event. Even though she was considered a bit as if she were taking the place of a guy. She was forced to impose herself.
“For the others, it wasn’t difficult,” he continues. They have progressed in their careers. We are quite simply in tune with what is being done at the international level. There are more and more big stars and events for girls. »
The development of women’s boxing throughout the world allows athletes to hope for big fights.
Houle and Veyre are not at the same point as Clavel in their careers, despite their big year. The first offered a good performance in the world championship to Wales, in defeat. And Veyre could, sooner rather than later, be the mandatory contender for Amanda Serrano’s titles, says Yvon Michel.
“They are superb athletes who dream of becoming world champions and who give everything they have every time,” says the promoter about his three boxers.
All three are at the heart of a shift, a turning point in the world of boxing which began around ten years ago.
“I think we’re really at the start of something big,” says Houle. Knowing that we are among the first who are there, who perform, who attract crowds even if it is still difficult to attract crowds currently with inflation, that there is really an interest in women’s boxing from people, that we can inspire people, both girls and guys, it’s great fun and it touches me a lot. »
Clavel, Veyre and Houle know each other well. They rub shoulders on a daily basis, especially the first two, coached by Danielle Bouchard. Between the three boxers, there seems to be a great dynamic.
“Caro and I see each other every day, we rub shoulders,” says Clavel. […] Marie-Pier, at least once a week, we encourage each other. We wonder how our preparation is going. »
This support is not only reserved for colleagues linked to the same promoter. “Even Leïla [Beaudoin]… It’s not because they don’t have the same promoter that we don’t talk to each other,” says Clavel. I find that there is great support between the girls. We encourage each other, it’s fun. »
Although the evolution of women’s boxing is remarkable, it is not over. According to Yvon Michel, television networks and sponsors should soon invest “specifically” in women’s boxing, “a bit like it was done in tennis in the years after Billie Jean King,” he says.
“Very soon there will be progression. It’s happening. I hear about promoter friends, or friends who are involved. It won’t be very long. »
It is also increasingly expensive for the promoter to present women’s fights in galas. “Girls know their worth more now. […] For the same number of rounds, it costs me more now to bring in girls than guys,” he notes.
In terms of promotion, Michel mentions the ease of marketing female boxers, compared to male boxers. “The girls are going to look for sponsors, they all have them. It’s not just here, it’s also internationally. There aren’t many men who have them. People are identifying themselves more and more. »
Caroline Veyre wants to make her contribution to the development of women’s boxing in Quebec. On September 30, she went to Beauce to attend an all-female boxing gala. “It was important for me to go. I myself participated in a first women’s boxing gala in 2011. It was the first in Quebec that we did. Then I had my journey, I went to the Olympics. I had to tell them to keep persevering because boxing is not easy. It’s a man’s world. We have to take our place. I saw a lot of talent. I wanted to encourage them to continue. Me too, my road has been difficult. It’s part of the journey, not to give up. »
