Mathieu Germain worked hard to wrestle a win from Ontarian Steven Wilcox to get his hands on the IBF Intercontinental Welterweight belt Thursday night at the Place Bell in Laval.
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Germain (22-2-2, 9 KOs) eventually won by unanimous decision of the judges, who gave cards of 96-94, 97-93 and 97-93.
“I’m happy with myself, I won and I’m going back into the top 15 in the world,” he commented hotly in the ring at the end of his fight with the Quebecer. Steven was harder to hit than I thought. He’s a good boxer with a lot of experience, but I’m the champion.”
“I’ll wait for the phone to ring, we’ll have a look with my manager and Yvon [Michel, son promoteur], he continued. I’m 33 years old, I want to fight outside to see what’s on offer. We will go there and we will win.”
Cut
Germain conceded five inches (24-4-1, 7 KOs) to Wilcox and quietly maintained his pace, occasionally hitting target and firing varied shots to the body and face.
From the third round, the boxer from Mascouche made some great combinations, often leaving his 32-year-old rival without an effective response.
Wilcox had a small burst of life in the sixth round and hit Germain hard on the chin in the next. But the crowd favorite, who sustained an injury near his right eye, endured the fight late into the night.