LA SERIE DE BOXE BUDWEISER
October 04, 2008
A jubilant Tony Luis after his victory over Mario Andrade of Mexico
by Luis de Melo, ringside
Lightweight Tony Luis sets the pace at the Montreal Casino by by being the first bout of the night and extending his record to 3-0 with a 40-34, 40-34, 40-33 unanimous decision over Mario Andrade of Mexico. Tony scored a knockdown in rounds one and two by utilizing well placed hooks to the body. Tony would use his jab effectively, and follow up with good solid combinations to the head and body. Rounds 3 and 4 would see Tony dominating & over-whelming his opponent. Mario would do his best to hang on and go the distance as Tony landed at will, right to the end.
At the end of Tony's fight the announcer asked everyone in attendance to pause for a moment of silence as the ring bell rang many a time in a tribute to Maria Luis, Wife of Jorge Luis, mother to Tony and Vanessa Luis who passed away suddenly on September 23, 2008 at the young age of 43.
 In Honor of Maria Luis (left)
Tony Luis: "This is my life! I am a boxer! My mother was my greatest fan. I do not want to fight angry. I want to honor my mother!" And honor her, he did!
May God love and keep you Maria cause we all did. We will never forget you"!
Kevin Bizier vs Jason McClure
by Luis de Melo, ringside
Making his pro debut Kevin Bizier would immediately go on the attack and record a TKO victory over Jason McClure at 1:57 of the opening round to register his first professional victory for a record of 1-0 1KO.
 Phil LoGreco 16-0 9KO
Jose Corona 15-12-2 6KO
by Luis de Melo, ringside
Phil LoGreco (blue trunks) sails to an easy victory over Jose Corona at 1:38 of the first round. Two solid left hands dispatched the Mexican fighter to the canvas, leaving him staggering as he tried to get to his feet.
 David Lemieux 11-0 11KO
Lance Moody 4-7-2 3KO
by Luis de Melo, ringside
Super-welterweight David Lemieux extends his winning streak by sending Lance Moody of Paris Arkansas to the canvas twice, and there he would remain on the second knockdown. David's power and solid blow to the body proved too much for Moody to handle at 2:15 of the first round.
 Dierry Jean 15-0 10KO
Fabien Luque 21-8-4 12KO
by Luis de Melo, ringside
I was upstairs earlier chatting with Super-lightweight Dierry Jean about the first time I had seen him fight Jorge Banos in the amateur ranks at the Quebec Cup in Montreal. I had mentioned how in the first round Banos was having his way with him, then to my surprise Jean exploded, took control, and sailed to a smooth victory. This day would be no different for Dierry Jean. With his explosive bursts of speed and power, he left no doubt on who the last man standing would be. Jean would score three second round knockdowns for a TKO victory over of Fabien Luque of Tijuana Mexico to remain undefeated.
Antonin Decarie 20-0 6KO vs Hector Munoz 18-2-1 11KO
by Luis de Melo, ringside
Antonin Decarie remains undefeated at 2:42 of the twelfth round over Hector Munoz of Albuquerque, New Mexico USA. Antonin was defending his NABO welterweight belt for the first time. I had Antonin slightly ahead of Munoz in the early rounds. Once Antonin discovered that he had an very effective jab he went to work on Munoz setting up good solid right hands. Munoz would visit the canvas in the ninth and eleventh round. Decarie would dominate the ever charging Munoz right to the end for an impressive win.
I wonder if Antonin's young son Nathan Decarie (2 years old) was watching his dad fight on TV. If so I am sure he is proud of his father...
Antonin Decarie and Luis de Melo
by Luis de Melo
I caught up with Antonin Decarie at the fights end in the dressing room area. We talked about his title defence and dominating victory over Hector Munoz. I always enjoy talking with Antonin. He is a gentleman and an exciting boxer to watch. I am looking forward to his next fight.
Arturo Gatti
by Luis de Melo
I caught Arturo Gatti in an interview while on my way to the dressing room. I could not pass up the opportunity to aim my camera and capture a timeless photo. Next chance I get I will certainly try to interview Arturo myself. These are the moments that when you actually bump in to someone like Arturo, you remember all the fights that you have seen him in and feel like you actually know him.
(left to right) Jorge Luis, Bill, Tony Luis, Russ Anber
by Luis de Melo
I caught these characters in the dressing room after the fights. The gentleman to the right of Jorge Luis is Tony's grandfather (Bill) who had arrived from Orlando Florida for his daughters funeral (Maria Luis). Bill decided to stay an extra week to watch his grandson fight for the first time. They hold their fingers out in a sign of Tony Luis' three consecutive wins. Good work Tony! You made your mother proud...
Posted By TODD HAMBLETON
For his mom, and largely because of his mom, Tony Luis will fight on
He would always hear her supportive voice, over the hundreds, and sometimes thousands, of other ones.
In fact, other than his father Jorge, his coach and trainer in the corner, Maria's voice, usually from the front row, was the only one Tony would hear.
She always wanted to be there, be as close as she could be. She was Tony's biggest fan. She was okay with her only son being a boxer, just as long as Jorge took care of him, and she knew that Jorge was very good at that.
Maria, by many accounts, was a tireless hurricane of activity, a loving mother, a business owner, a volunteer. Her biggest worry a few weeks earlier was, how would she get everything done at home in Cornwall to get to the Casino de Montreal in time to see Tony's matinee fight that was fast approaching?
She was at the gym, two weeks ago today for a workout, when she was struck down, at 43, by a brain aneurysm. She would be taken off life support the next day.
On Saturday, Tony, one of her two great and cherished children, would climb into the boxing ring for his third professional bout. It was part of a CBC French-language-televised card at the Casino's Cabaret room. It was 11 days after his mom's death, five days after her funeral.
And it was what he had to do, what he wanted to do.
"She was my biggest cheerleader,'' Tony said. "She wasn't shy about supporting me. She would worry -- she was usually scared to death that I'd get hurt.''
Tony, 20, was being interviewed in a quiet dark corner, backstage, a few feet from the dressing room, a level up from the ring. He wore a perfectly-tailored dark suit, looking every bit the pro boxer who, an hour earlier, had just improved to 3-0, has barely been scratched so far, and who has a very promising future in the sport. With his head mostly down, he answered every question -- surely they were more painful than anything he had just faced in the ring -- about his relationship with his mother.
He wanted to fight to honour her. He never really stopped training for his four-round bout with Mario Andrade, of Mexico City. He kept to his schedule at Champs Eastside Boxing Club in Cornwall, training by himself. He kept on running, too.
Jorge couldn't talk him into postponing or canceling the lightweight division fight. But he was able to convince Tony to not fight with rage, and that was quite a feat. Because, my God, did Tony ever want to fight with rage.
"At first I wanted to fight angry,'' Tony said. "I didn't let my rage take over.''
Afterwards, he would give himself high marks for a technically-sound performance. He put his combos together, "always in twos and threes'', he said, and he was much too much for Andrade, dropping the Mexican twice in the first round, three times overall, and easily winning a three-judge unanimous decision, but one that leaves him without a pro knockout or TKO.
"I'm just waiting for that knockout win,'' he said with a smile. "It's still evading me.''
Luis was signed earlier this year by Groupe Yvon Michel, out of Montreal. He's being groomed for stardom. He'll likely slowly progress to six-round bouts, and then eight, and then, hopefully, to 12-round championship fights. He'll likely be on the next Casino card, early in November.
On Saturday, after his bout was over, while he was still in the ring, they held a moment of silence, in tribute to Maria.
Perhaps one of the most painful aspects in the death of a loved one is going forward in life and not being able to share experiences with that person. Will the loved one know how things turned out?
Tony thinks Maria will know. He thinks she was there in Montreal on Saturday. She wasn't in the front row, where she would usually be, but she was there.
"Definitely,'' he said. "I felt she was here today. I felt it big-time after the fight.''
Tony talked about his mom's upbringing. Maria was born in Greece, and she emigrated to Canada at the age of six.
"A lot of people told her when she was growing up that she couldn't do this, she couldn't accomplish that,'' he said. "She proved a lot of people wrong.
"She was a little fireball. I guess I get my energy from both sides. The stubborn, determined will, the never-say-die, was from her.
"But she was also one of the most forgiving people I ever knew.''
Said Jorge, Maria's husband of 21 years: "She was a small woman but she had a ton of energy. She was always on the go, and she'd do anything for her kids.''
Vanessa Luis, Tony's sister, is 15. Dad describes her as "very artistic''. She's in her first year at CCVS, and she's active in the arts and dancing. She has the lead role in an upcoming church play.
Jorge Luis thought that the best way he could publically pay tribute to his wife was to say this: "It's not easy living with a (boxing) coach . . . during an age in which separation and divorce are rampant, we were together 21 years. And I was away three or four nights a week, all year-round. I was away one or two weekends a month. If I didn't have such a special lady in my life, my boxing club would never have gotten off the ground.''
Life is for the living. Tony Luis, who on Saturday did what he does best, knows the pain of his loss will never completely go away, that it'll be a struggle, for a long time.
Life is for the living. Because Maria was an organ donor, five people -- one in Edmonton, two in Toronto and two in the Ottawa area -- have had an opportunity to have their lives extended. Five people will fight on, because of Maria.
And Tony, he'll fight on.
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