There are fewer boxing gyms in Quebec City than when Wilkens Mathieu was growing up there during the 2000s. The boxing culture there has declined significantly since the days when local stars like Jean Pascal and Adonis Stevenson drew large crowds to boxing stadiums. the entire Canadian province. It was for that reason that Mathieu, 19, moved to Montreal three years ago, just as he was taking his boxing aspirations to the next level.
This Saturday, super middleweight prospect Mathieu (5-0, 3 KOs) will make his first appearance in his hometown as a professional, when he faces José Arias Álvarez (3-1, 1 KO) in a 4-round fight at the Center . Videotron on the undercard of the unified light heavyweight championship fight between Artur Beterbiev and Callum Smith.
He hopes local fans seeing a wrestler from their province on the big stage will get them excited about the sport again.
“I want to revive boxing like the old days with Jean Pascal and Lucien Bute. I want to revive the sport,” said Mathieu, who is promoted by Montreal-based Eye of the Tiger Promotions.
“This will be my first fight in my hometown in the professional ranks. Ever since I turned pro, that was the moment I was waiting for. I didn’t expect him to appear on a major card with Artur Beterbiev. “My family, all my high school friends are going to be there.”
Mathieu knew he wanted to be a boxer since he was alive. His father was an amateur boxer who built a boxing gym in the basement of his house. His older brother, Lexson Mathieu, was a multiple-time Canadian champion and went 9-0 as a professional before retiring to pursue business interests.
Photo by Vincent Ethier/EOTTM © 2023
Mathieu had a 32-fight amateur career, which began at age 10. Although he could not find many opponents at the national level due to his reputation, he gained a lot of experience abroad, competing in Hungary and Germany before ending his amateur career at the World Junior Championships. Spanish Championship in November 2022.
He knew he wanted to go pro and even contemplated traveling to Mexico at age 16 to turn pro, but his coach Mike Moffa convinced him to take his time.
“In Quebec it was difficult to get fights, nobody wanted to fight me. Every time I enter a competition, everyone in my weight class disappears,” Mathieu said.
“From the beginning I wanted to become a professional from a very young age because I didn’t like amateur boxing. The Olympic Games were never my dream, I didn’t like the three rounds, I didn’t like the gloves. “I was just waiting to be a good age to turn professional.”
Mathieu turned pro last February, a month after turning 18, and has maintained an active schedule with five fights in 2023. The 6’1″ boxer and puncher says he likes to take parts from a variety of different fighters, including Floyd. Mayweather Jr. and Devin Haney, but he compares himself more to another boxer who once fought in the super middleweight division.
“I’m a really explosive guy, I have a lot of imagination in the ring. I’m a lot like Roy Jones, a really explosive guy, intelligent, I know how to do a little bit of everything. I can box on the outside if I need to, I can fight on the inside if I need to. “I can adapt to anything,” Mathieu said.
Mathieu envisions himself moving quickly through the professional ranks, with his vision including a minor title next year followed by a world title fight within 2 or 3 years.
First he must overcome Álvarez, a 39-year-old man from León, Mexico. Alvarez first turned professional in 2017, but was inactive from 2019 until he returned to the ring last October in Montreal.
“I saw a video of him. “He has a big heart, he can take some hits and he will do the best he can, but he doesn’t have my skills, my speed or my strength,” Mathieu said.
“It’s going to be a good stage to do a great performance and show my skills to the whole world.”
Ryan Songalia has written for ESPN, New York Daily News, Rappler and The Guardian, and is part of the Craig Newmark School of Journalism Class of 2020. You can contact him at [email protected].
