Boxing’s return to Toronto a hit
Even a draw in the main match didn’t ruin night
Big time boxing returned to Toronto in a large lightheavyweight way on Saturday night for the first time in almost three decades and honest, it was worth the wait.
Even without a declared winner. What a tremendous fight it was between WBC light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson and No. 1 contender Badou Jack — right to the final seconds of Round 12. And what a memorable performance both by Stevenson, the slugger forced to box and by Jack, who fought a smart, careful well-crafted fight. Two judges scored the fight 114-114, while one had Jack winning 115-113. By boxing rules, the bout was scored a majority draw.
But the fight was everything it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be big puncher vs. boxer. Instead, it was boxer vs. boxer, occasional big puncher vs. occasional big puncher and in the end there was no quarrel with the decision. This is the kind of match that will bring people back.
The title fight was the first bigtime boxing card in Toronto in years, the first at the Air Canada Centre. And maybe the best part — it looked and felt like boxing.
The ACC had a professional feel to it, with large screens available, numerous smaller television sets, and a terrific view of the ring: Aesthetically, this felt like an event of consequence.
“I love this place,” said promoter Yvon Michel. “The way they’ve set this up, what a great atmosphere. And there’s not one seat on the floor that wasn’t sold. We hope this isn’t a one-time thing.
“I was nervous about how this was going to go,” Michel added. “Everything went smooth. We had a great collaboration between the different people involved — our people, MLSE, Mayweather Promotions, Lee Baxter, the local promoter — a lot of work was done by a lot of people.”
The night was not without incident. Someone semi-clothed, bottom showing, tried to climb in the ring in the eighth round of a welterweight fight between Mikael Zewski and Diego Gonzalo Luque. The man was dragged off the ring apron by Baxter. A melee of sorts ensued. The bout, won by Zewski, was delayed for several minutes while order was restored.
The rest of the night, all went well.