Poulard, Brother of Pascal, Headlines On Boxing Channel Card

Lot of pressure on Poulard (right) against the underdog Sjomkin. If the Canadian wins, he might get a title shot. Go to BoxingChannel.TV to see if he gets it done.

Nicholson Poulard, who headlines a show in Quebec tonight, Friday, Aug. 17 which will stream for free on BoxingChannel.TV, is a light heavyweight looking to muscle his way into the top 10, and get himself a title crack. I confess, his name wasn't familiar to me, but seeing as how he'll be battling Estonian Anton Sjomkin on our sister site, I decided to give him a call, and acquaint myself with him, so I could give readers and potential viewers of that bout and card put on by Eye of the Tiger Management a better sense of what they might expect when tuning in. I was pleasantly surprised when Poulard, age 34, told me he'd gotten in world-class parring with the likes of Chad Dawson, a few years back, and Jean Pascal, recently. I was a bit more surprised when Poulard told me that Pascal is his brother, that they have the same mother.

Poulard came with Jean and mom Josephine from Haiti to Canada when he was nine, and after an amateur career, he turned pro pretty late in the game, in 2004. He took some time off, partly because the Canadian amateur fed told him to when he shoved a ref during a tournament, and to get a degree. But the boxing jones stayed in his blood, and he decided he needed to see how far he could go. The 18-3 (8 KOs) hitter, who says he likes to be a versatile fighter, sometimes being first, sometimes being the counterpuncher, depending on who he has in front of him, is the favorite against the 13-6-1 Sjomkin. So, I asked, what does he know of his Friday foe?

“I saw one video of him on YouTube,” said the fighter coming off a SD10 win over 12-0 Lionell Thompson in May, in Quebec. “He has a Euro style, he's a tough fighter, and I will have to watch myself.”

Should he have his hand raised, a scrap with WBA light heavy champ Beibut Shumenov might be in the cards, he said. Poulard, ranked No. 14 by the WBA, said Shumi sent a letter expressing interest in a defense to Poulard's management. “I hope we will do it,” he told me.

So, that sparring with ex light heavy champ Jean, his younger bro, who turns 30 on Oct. 28. (Poulard told me that Pascal will be present rooting his bro on at the fight tonight.) Did they go easy on each other or tear it up?

“We do not take it easy, it's really good fighting,” he declared. “You can watch it on the website gotconnex.tv.

“Where am I among the light heavys? Top fifteen for sure,” Poulard said, “and I can fight with anyone in the top ten.”

You got to like technology, I think, and streams which let us see guys that we ordinarily might not, like Poulard. Log on to BoxingChannel.TV for a 7 PM ET start time to screen the card and the Poulard-Sjomkin scrap. Canadian host, producer and sportswriter, Corey Eldman will call the bouts. We will decide for ourselves if Poulard is the real-deal, and can make some noise at boxing middle-age.

Comment on this article