Final words with Antonin Décarie
By Jeff Emond Jeffrey
The next chapter of the Quebec-Ontario rivalry will be written on Saturday night, December 17, at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, when welterweight contender Antonin Décarie (25-1-0) of Laval, Quebec, takes on Victor ‘Lupo’ Puiu (19-1-2) of Toronto, Ontario, for the vacant WBC International welterweight championship. ‘Lupo’ is coming off the biggest victory of his career against former WBC light welterweight champion Junior ‘The Hitter’ Witter (37-3-2) back in February. Décarie is also coming off an impressive victory, over Shamone Alvarez (21-3-0) in the same month.
Earlier this week, The Boxing Examiner spoke with Antonin Décarie about his upcoming fight.
The Boxing Examiner: Good afternoon Antonin! How are you?
Antonin Décarie: I’m doing good and I’m ready!
TBE: Saturday night, you fight Victor Lupo, one the toughest opponents of your young career. Your thoughts?
AD: It’s going to be a big challenge for me; Lupo is a very talented fighter. After all, he won the WBC International silver welterweight title against Junior Witter. At first, he was supposed to fight Phil Lo Greco, but for some reason Lo Greco refused to defend his title in Toronto against Lupo. That is why the title is vacant and I will do everything to get my hands on it. I’m sure Lupo is thinking the same. This title is very important to get a good rating in the WBC. More importantly, it’s the battle of the provinces of Quebec and Ontario in Canada. Ontario is ahead of us with Logan McGuiness’s win over Benoit Gaudet, Steve Molitor’s victory against Sebastien Gauthier and Samuel Vargas recently had the better of Ahmad Cheikho. So, I have to win this one for Quebec.
TBE: What do you expect from Lupo?
AD: He’s going to be aggressive. He’s a very confident guy and so am I. I won’t run from him and I don’t underestimate him at all. I expect a tough battle. Lupo has a nice record. Having a win over him would take my career to another level.
TBE: How did you prepare for this fight?
AD: It’s very important to be in perfect physical condition against an intense fighter like Lupo. I know he’s going to pressure until the end of the fight. I worked very hard on my cardio and movements in the ring. He’s also a very proud man, I know he’s coming to win, but I won’t let him. I am a proud fighter too. Well, we have that in common.
I’m in exceptional physical condition. I was supposed to fight living legend Jose Luis Castillo (63-11-1) in September, but the fight was rescheduled to October. Then I got injured less than a week before the fight. But now I feel great and the injury is in the past.
TBE: Are you going to fight Castillo in a near future?
AD: Yes, I will fight him eventually. But the opportunity to fight Lupo for Lo Greco’s former title was too good to let pass. But, I have to take one thing at the time and right now I’m training really hard for Lupo. I will not overlook him.
TBE: According to Boxrec, you are ranked number 20. Many very skilled fighters are in that division, like Floyd Mayweather Jr., Andre Berto, Victor Ortiz and Selcuk Aydin, to name a few. Is there anyone you would like to fight in the welterweight division?
AD: It’s a very competitive division and I’m willing to fight anyone to make it to the top. However, I like fighter-brawlers. It suits my style. I would love to fight a guy like Marcos Maidana (31-2-0) or Lucas Mathysse (29-2-0), if he moves up to welterweight.
TBE: Last November, Selcuk Aydin won a hard fought battle against Jo Jo Dan, a strong southpaw. During the fight, Aydin even broke Dan’s jaw. Is there a possibility of fighting Aydin?
AD: Of course. I would love to fight Aydin (23-0-0), more than Mathysse or Maidana, when I think of it. Aydin is a solid brawler and, comparing Dan’s style with his, I would have a better chance against Aydin, even if he won his second fight over Dan, because he’s always coming forward. I do think Dan won the first time against him. At this time, I’m not in Aydin’s plans. After all, he just won the WBC Silver welterweight title and that means he’s supposed to fight Floyd Mayweather Jr. next. Right now, Lupo is my priority.
TBE: Thank you for your time Antonin and good luck.
AD: Thank you and it’s going to be a very exciting fight.
Filed Under: Interviews
