“As soon as I walked into the gym I knew this sport was for me.” That’s how Haitian-born and Montreal-raised world middleweight prospect Joachim Alcine describes his first exposure to the “sweet science”. “Right away I knew I had talent,” he admits. And apparently so did his coaches who fast-tracked Alcine, then only 17 years old, to his first amateur fight after only one month of training. “The sport just felt natural to me,” he adds confidently. “It’s what I was meant to do.”

And so far this young man’s true calling has led to an impressive professional record of 21 wins, including 14 KO’s, with no defeats, and earned him a #8 ranking with the WBC. “He doesn’t cheat or cut any corners,” explains head coach, Howard Grant. “This kid works hard every day, listens to his coaches and learns fast. He’s got good hand speed, a decent punch and loves to fight.”

One of Alcine’s most impressive fights to date took place on Oct 9, 2004 and involved the 5th round dismantling of Fernando Hernandez, an experienced and talented fighter out of Puerto Rico. “Jo (Alcine) simply overwhelmed this guy,” explains Howard Grant. “And made him look ordinary.” The fight was scheduled for 12 rounds but Hernandez didn’t see 6 as Alcine used both hands to continually punish his opponent to the body and the head with well conceived, clean powerful punches. Particularly effective were the series of lightning left hooks to the rib cage that eventually put Hernandez out of his misery and handed Alcine yet another victory. It seems quite clear from this performance that Alcine is very close to a title shot and appears ready to compete with the world’s best.

But before doing so Alcine had one more piece of local business to take care of. You see up until this point in his career Alcine had never really been fully embraced by Montreal boxing fans. Respected and admired, yes, but not heralded as other homegrown stars like Lucas, Grant, Bonhamie and of course, Stephane Oulette. Now the first three either weren’t available or appropriate but the fourth was certainly up to the challenge and just like that the fight was on – Oulette vs. Alcine at the Bell Centre on December 17/04. The town was buzzing with excitement and predictions and while Alcine was the favourite on paper, Oulette was certainly the people’s favourite, and while seemingly overmatched was nevertheless portrayed by many as the man to beat. And beaten he was, as this one wasn’t even close. Coming off a 3-year layoff, Oulette lost almost 50 lbs. for this contest and obviously trained very hard but in the end it didn’t make much difference against a hungry young thoroughbred like Alcine, and before Montreal’s favourite son could even break a sweat, it was all over.

Analysis

Alcine looked focused and a little angry when he entered the ring and at the sound of the bell, immediately got down to business by snapping a clean, hard jab off of Oulette’s forehead in the first few seconds of the fight. The punch was well-timed, had great extension and easily found its way through Oulette’s guard, hitting him flush. From ringside it appeared that Oulette didn’t even see the punch coming and simply didn’t possess the reflexes to deal with such speed and accuracy. Infact Oulette looked stiff, wasn’t really moving his head, or giving Alcine any different looks, postures or feints – he presented a straight up, stationary target, appearing content, at least early on, to try and block Alcine’s punches with his gloves. Alcine on the other hand, looked razor sharp and was quickly setting himself up to throw hard punches with bad intentions and once he saw his opportunity, like a true professional, he took it. The beginning of the end came with a powerful combination ending with a wicked right hand that relieved Oulette of his mouthpiece and sent him backward into the ropes. Obviously dazed, Oulette seemed to smiled momentarily at his opponent, but instead of moving away to buy some time and clear his head stepped right back into the pocket. This was his biggest mistake, besides taking the fight in the first place, as Alcine immediately stepped up as well and threw a perfect 1-2, using the jab as a range finder and dropped his over-matched opponent for the first and last time with a crushing right hand to the left cheek. And once again Oulette seemed totally unprepared for the exchange and simply didn’t see the punch coming. Alcine followed up the 1-2 with the textbook left hook but by that point Oulette was already out and the final hook did nothing more help guide his semi-conscious opponent to the waiting canvas. The referee dutifully began the count as Oulette staggered to his feet but the contest was mercifully stopped, the end coming less than 2 minutes into the opening round.

Post Fight Reaction

A jubilant Alcine was all smiles in the press conference as was promoter, Yvon Michel, who seemed very optimistic about a world title shot in the near future. “He needs one more fight to prove that he is ready for a world championship,” explained Michel. “And that fight should take place in February/05.” Alcine was asked whether he was surprised how fast he took care of Oulette in this fight to which he emphatically answered, no, but then admitted that he was surprised about what was being written in the local papers leading up to the fight. “I felt insulted,” he explained. “Insulted by the predictions of a Oulette victory. Oulette can’t compete at this level and was simply out of his league.” Chief second, Howard Grant, then echoed his fighter’s sentiments. “This guy really doesn’t deserve to even be in the same ring as Jo (Alcine) but the people wanted to see this fight so we gave them what they wanted.” Promoter, Yvon Michel, then added some more sobering thoughts to the proceedings by reminding those in attendance that regardless of the uncompetitive outcome of this contest, it was nevertheless Oulette who really made this fight and the entire evening such a success. Over 7,000 people came out that cold Friday evening and many of them came to see Oulette, a living legend who enjoys almost iconic status in the city of Montreal. As they say in the business, he puts “asses in seats” and without him as a draw such an event wouldn’t have been possible.

Stephane Oulette

I have to admit up until that night I’d never seen Oulette fight live and as a result never really understood why he was so popular in Montreal. It was in the post-fight press conference that I slowly began to understand why as I watched a humble man share his feelings with the press and through them, with the public in a candid and very refreshing way. He just walked in with a lit cigarette in his hand and sat down like a buddy would sit down in your living room. There was no pretense ... it was pure. And let’s remember that in light of such a devastating and punishing loss the man didn’t have to show, and nobody would have blamed him a bit. His nose looked broken and displaced, he was packed up with gauze, obviously in a lot of discomfort and probably belonged in a hospital rather than a press conference. But despite the injuries he sat and held court for more than half and hour and would have stayed even longer if the media coordinator hadn’t finally called a halt to the proceedings. And as he slowly walked away surrounded by family and friends it became clear that his legion of loyal fans didn’t just love Stephane Oulette “the fighter”, they loved Stephane Oulette “the man”. He’s the working class hero who wins some, loses some and while not blessed with tremendous ability or discipline, always answers the bell and never gives up. And it’s certainly been a great ride, but I hope, for his sake, that we have seen the last of Stephane Oulette “the fighter”, he’s had a long career and it’s probably due time he moved on.

Alcine’s Future

As for Joachim Alcine, his future looks very bright indeed as this young lion may one day add his name to the growing list of world champions from Montreal’s boxing factory. At age 28, however, he has to start moving if he wants to enjoy any length of time at the top and if all goes well his next fight may be the launch point to the world.