Kim Clavel may not have blocked all of her opponent’s shots as Patrick Roy parried all of the pucks, but the Quebecer set the record straight and confirmed her latest loss was just a travel error.
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“I really wanted to win. I was focused in the corner as Danielle [Bouchard, son entraîneuse] and my team spoke to me. I saw what happened. I know I got hit, but we’re boxing, we can’t dodge them all. I wish that would have stopped them all like Patrick Roy did. But tonight [vendredi], I missed a few! We still won the match,” philosophized Clavel (17-1, 3 KOs) after his unanimous referee win over Naomi Arellano Reyes (9-3, 5 KOs).
The former WBC light flyweight champion didn’t want to repeat the same blunders of her loss to Yesica Nery Plata in January, also at the Place Bell in Laval.
“I found her defensively responsible, especially at the beginning you could see that she calculated the ring well and wanted to dominate the tactical part,” noted promoter Yvon Michel. At one point, she got a little carried away with her emotions, but after her right eye was injured and started to close, she became responsible again. She ended up going there for the show. She knew how to adapt in battle, she knew how to deal with the situation.
A nod to Joe Calzaghe
For the star of the night, her speed made all the difference, inspired by Joe Calzaghe, the first boxer she saw in action at the age of 16 and who has been following her on Instagram since Friday.
“She had a long reach, I had no choice but to go in, I just had to put my hands very high to protect myself. My step back was there, blocking what she was doing and coming back right after, my left hook, my right hand that I passed many times. She also had a good shot, which surprised me.