Who Will Be The Next Great Heavyweight?
(Source – TheNextGreatHeavyweight.com)
a
a
Julien Collette of Bouctouche and Warren Porter of Miramichi have a senior hockey background, but now they’re making their name in a different sport.
They will clash for the heavyweight championship in the main event of a professional boxing card on Saturday in the CEPS Building at l’Université de Moncton. Action begins at 7 p.m.
Collette (6-foot-3 and 225 pounds) and Porter (six foot and 235 pounds) both have a 3-0 record. One of them will earn $5,000 and take home the championship belt in The Next Great Heavyweight series.
“Collette is more of a boxer-puncher in terms of style and he’s probably more athletically gifted than Porter,” said promoter Dwayne Storey. “I would also say that Collette sees himself as the underdog going into this fight.
“Porter has been sparring for a number of years so he has that experience factor in terms of training. He’s an aggressive fighter. He takes the fight to his opponent and punishes the body. Both fighters are in their best shape ever so it’s going to be a battle of wills. I think it’s going to come down to whoever wants it more.”
New Generation Productions, a Moncton company operated by Storey and his wife Karen, founded The Next Great Heavyweight series last year in order to promote pro boxing locally and help recruit new talent to the sport in New Brunswick.
“This will be our fourth event in 10 months,” said Storey. “Our first three events all had more than 1,200 fans. When you throw something like this out there, you don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m very encouraged the way fans have responded to it.
“We’re picking up new fans each time so that’s a great sign. For the fans who haven’t come out since our first card, this would be a great time for them to come back. They would see a big difference now that the fighters are more experienced.”
Tickets are $35 and they’re available by calling 961-4265 or by visiting www.thenextgreatheavyweight.com. Other sales outlets are CC’s Lounge in Shediac, Frank’s Music in Moncton, Joanne’s Video in Bouctouche, Bill’s Kwik Way in Chatham and Joe’s Kwik Way in Eel Ground. The six-bout card is sanctioned by the Moncton Boxing and Wrestling Commission.
George Chuvalo, who was Canadian heavyweight champion for 20 years, will attend this event as a special guest. He’s a member of the Order of Canada, the Boxing Hall of Fame and the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
Chuvalo will put the belt on the The Next Great Heavyweight titleholder on Saturday night. He was never knocked off his feet and fought the likes of Muhammad Ali, George Foreman and Joe Frazier.
Guy Desforges of Eel River Crossing and Dale Simmonds of Moncton will battle for the vacant Maritime cruiserweight title on this card. The card will also feature the semifinals in The Next Great Cruiserweight. It’s Chris Norrad of Boiestown versus Denis Martin of Riviere Verte and Jesse Francis of Eel Ground against Travis Connors of Miramichi.
Other bouts are heavyweights Jon Norman of Hillsborough versus Jeff Lundberg of Saint John and light heavyweights Eric Roy of Edmundston against Norm Peters of Moncton. The public is invited to attend the weigh-in on Friday at 3 p.m. at Moncton Chrysler Dodge.
“This is going to be the most exciting card that we’ve staged yet because of the quality of fighters,” said Storey. “It should be a great heavyweight championship fight, there’s a Maritime cruiserweight title on the line and there’s some other great matchups on the undercard.”
Tags:Dwayne Storey, George Chuvalo, Julien Collette, Warren Porter
Filed Under: Press Releases
