“I always felt like I was swimming alone in the great ocean of boxing. But now I’m in a boat. »
The ship is the promotion company Eye of the Tiger Management (EOTTM). The boxer is Steve Claggett, a self-taught pugilist from Calgary. The Canadian “Dragon” will face the American Miguel Madueno on Tuesday evening, in the final of a gala presented at the Montreal Casino.
Claggett (36-7-2, 25 KOs) will defend his NABF super lightweight belt (140 pounds) and try to get his hands on the vacant WBO international super lightweight title.
This will be his eighth fight within the team driven by Camille Estephan. The 34-year-old boxer previously spent his entire professional career as a free agent.
“[Estephan] gives me direction, support,” Claggett explained to La Presse, a few minutes after the official weigh-in held at the Cabaret du casino on Monday noon.
Although he is preparing to fight an important fight which should finally prove that he belongs to the elite of his division, the Albertan answers our questions with a calm voice, with Olympian calm, and always smiling. in corner.
This support offered by EOTTM is “something I haven’t had for a long time,” he says. “I’m grateful to them. »
Estephan draws a parallel between Claggett’s journey and that of Russell Crowe’s character in the film Cinderella Man (2005). The feature film tells the story of a Great Depression-era boxer “who wasn’t going anywhere,” who was “not expected to become a big star.” Spoiler alert: the ending of the story is triumphant.
That is to say the foil, the visitor, the one who faces the favorite. “He didn’t have a coach, literally. He coached himself. He didn’t do sparring. He was all alone, in Calgary. »
“And often, he caused a surprise,” says the promoter. Often it was stolen. Now he has a schedule. He knows that he is no longer the adversary. He’s in corner A, not corner B.”
Steve Claggett has been undefeated since the start of his partnership with EOTTM, and more specifically with trainer Mike Moffa.
In the person of Miguel Madueno (30-1, 28 KOs), “Claggett faces a real opponent,” underlines the friendly Moffa.
Beyond the titles, that’s also what’s at stake on Tuesday evening.
“Promoters want to see that. Steve Claggett is adorable, the promoters love him. He puts on a show, he forces his opponents to work. It makes for an exciting fight. »
Same story for Marc Ramsay, head coach at EOTTM.
“He’s a brilliant guy in the ring, he puts a lot of pressure on, he makes his opponents crack. It’s a recipe that suits him well. And he has a good marriage with Mike Moffa. We have seen progress over the last few fights. »
And like all marriages, this relationship is not necessarily a smooth river.
“We’re good opponents, but we’re even better teammates,” said Steve Claggett. We work well together. It’s great to work with someone who has the same passion for boxing as me. »
Moffa laughs that he had a run-in with Claggett at least once in each of his previous seven training camps. But not this time.
“He always trained in his own way,” he said. In the past, he brought whoever he wanted into his corner. But here, it’s my way. And he wasn’t used to that. We had small skirmishes. »
For this eighth training camp, “it was harmonious from start to finish! “, says Claggett. “It’s not for nothing that we have success, but we haven’t demonstrated anything yet. The best is yet to come. »
And this time, corner B is over. He is the star of the gala.
“It’s great,” breathes the boxer. I feel like I’ve been on the run my whole life. And finally, I have an organization that puts me in a race. I can now show how fast I run. »
Even though Steven Butler has had two world championship fights, his Tuesday clash is “the most important of his life,” according to his new trainer, American John Scully.
“That’s how boxing works,” he said. Just about all of your struggles are the biggest ones of your life. But this one particularly, after having suffered this defeat. »
This is because the Montreal pugilist (32-4-1, 26 KOs) lost said world championship fights. The one last May, against Zhanibek Alimkhanuly in Stockton, hurt the most: this hard failure in two rounds made him question himself for the rest of his career.
In this context, “it’s all or nothing [boom or bust]” Tuesday against the Mexican Ivan Alvarez (32-14-4, 21 KO) in the semi-final, says Camille Estephan.
“His state of mind is to give himself a real, ultimate chance, to make all the sacrifices,” believes the promoter. I personally think the focus hasn’t always been there 100%. You have family, you have a lot of responsibilities. The tops in sport, in boxing or elsewhere, they put all their concentration into it. I don’t think he’s done that so far in his career. »
At least, until this training camp. Steven Butler left his “comfort zone” by moving to Hartford, Connecticut, the town where John Scully’s gym is located.
“I think Steven needed a change of scenery,” says Marc Ramsay. To change his habits that he had here in Montreal. »
“In the direction we were taking before, he wasn’t going to make it,” says Estephan. We tried twice, we failed twice. A drastic change had to be made. »
John Scully knows the house well, having worked with Ramsay to train Artur Beterbiev. Even if Butler was ripe for a change, his new coach claims not to have rushed him too much.
“People think the new coaches are going to change everything. It’s insane to do this. I let him fight his way, but we improve his jab, we make him think a little more. »
Steven Butler got the coaching he needed. It’s now up to him to do the work, believes Camille Estephan.
“You can take the horse to the well, but it’s his turn to drink. »
Camille Estephan has high hopes for the Australian Imam Khataev (4-0, 4 KOs). “I think it’s the best one we’ve signed so far,” he says. Nothing less. The 29-year-old gladiator will face Mexican Fernando Galvan on Tuesday evening. “He has 60 amateur fights, he is a world amateur champion, he is a bronze medalist at the Olympics [in Tokyo]. » On Monday, the look he gave his opponent as they posed after the weigh-in was without a doubt the harshest of the lot. The tension was cut with a knife, so much so that heads turned in the room when she was released. “We want to get it up quickly,” Estephan said. If he gets healthier [Tuesday], we want to go get him a title on January 13. »
