Bazinyan Improves to 29-0, but Gollaz and Gaumont Steal the Show in Montreal

Super middleweight Erik Bazinyan, ranked #3 by the WBA and the WB0 and #4 by the WBC, advanced his record to 29-0 (21) on Thursday night at the Casino de Montreal with a hard-earned majority decision over Alantex Fox. The judges had it 95-95 and 98-92 twice.

A member of the National Team in Armenia before moving with his parents to Quebec at age 16, Bazinyan was moving up in class while making the first defense of two North American titles. In Fox, one of two fighting brothers from Upper Marlboro, Maryland, he was meeting a 12-year pro who brought a 28-3-1 record.

The fight was messy at times as was often the case with the six-foot-four Fox who tends to tie up his opponents when they happen to borrow inside his long arms. The fight was fairly even through the first six frames, but Bazinyan forged ahead as Fox’s workrate declined.

There were two brutal upsets on the undercard, both of which ended in the opening round.

In a super lightweight match slated for 10, Guadalajara’s Gabriel Gollaz, who was billed for this fight under his mother’s maiden name, Valenzuela, solidified his reputation as a treacherous spoiler with a first round blast-out of Yves Ulysse Jr. The Mexican, who improved to 26-3-1 with his 16^th knockout, caught Ulysses leaning in and crumpled him with a brutal uppercut. Ulysse, who hadn’t previously been stopped, appeared to suffer a leg injury as he fell and was carried from the ring.

In 2021, Gollaz went to London and upset former British Commonwealth champion Robbie Davies Jr. More recently, he came within a shade of upsetting Matchroom signee Montana Love, losing a 12-round decision.

A 34-year-old Montreal native of Haitian ancestry, Ulysse (22-3) was considered a bright prospect after taking Cletus Seldin to school in 2017. After tonight’s match, which lasted all of 52 seconds, he indicated that he would retire.

Another Mexican import, middleweight Carlos Gallego, wasn’t as fortunate. Gallego, 8-4 heading in, was knocked out in the opening round by local fan favorite Alexandre Gaumont (7-0, 5 KOs).

Gaumont forced the stoppage with a barrage of punches after snapping Gallego’s head back with a vicious uppercut. Gallego tried to rise and then fell back to his knees as the bout was being waived off. The official time was 2:26.

Gaumont, 27, knocked out 12 of his 21 opponents as an amateur. He bears watching.

Presented by Camille Estephan’s Eye of the Tiger Promotions, tonight’s card aired in the U.S. on ESPN+.

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