GRANT WINS;
 PASCAL SIZZLES
CHECK OUT VIC ALVERADO'S PHOTO GALLERY

By Costa Sapounas
Fightbeat.com Staff Writer

Otis Grant was supposed to face Cristian Sanavia in part of an elimination tournament which would determine the mandatory contender to Markus Beyer's title. Unfortunately, Sanavia suffered a shoulder injury and the television slot could not be pushed to a later date.  

As a result, the Gatineau show went on as planned this Saturday afternoon. The event did not suffer one bit, certainly not in excitement. The crowd on hand at the LAC Leamy Casino certainly got their money’s worth from beginning to end.  

It was not the WBC elimination bout he was hoping for, but #1 ranked Otis Grant proved that he deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as the division's elite by outpointing substitute Donnell Wiggins over 10 rounds with scores of 99-91 and 98-92(twice). Grant experienced a slow start and was somewhat surprised by the usually aggressive Wiggins' choice to play the waiting game and make him commit first. It worked at first; Wiggins was catching Grant coming in with a few well-timed uppercuts.  

However, it didn't take long for the WBC International champ to figure out his twelve years junior. Grant grew more and more effective as the fight progressed which forced his opponent to revert to his old ways at the start of the fifth. Grant laid against the ropes and let Wiggins throw everything he had at him for approximately a minute.  

The crowd gasped as a powerful right in the bunch penetrated the hometown man's guard. But Grant was not hurt and that was Wiggins' last highlight of the fight. From the sixth round on, Grant took all the rounds thanks to his great combinations and his masterful fighting off the ropes.  

With the win, Grant improves to 38-2-1 (17KO). He remains the top rated contender among the WBC super middleweight rankings, with his next fight to be either a final eliminator against Librado Andrade or straight to the title against champion Markus Beyer.  

The Tennessee-based Wiggins falls to 24-6-2 (14KO) with the loss, the fourth in his last eight bouts.  

On the undercard, Jean Pascal (8-0, 7KO) was nothing less than brilliant in his eighth pro fight against experienced veteran James Crawford (40-12-2).  

The perfect blend of speed, power and reflexes, the Athens Olympian dropped the unsuspecting Crawford in the first with a single sneaky lightning-fast right thrown from his waist side. Things didn't get any easier for Crawford in the second. He was floored by a crippling left hook to the body and again by a straight right to the cup.  

The nightmare persisted in the third. Crawford tasted canvas on three more occasions, forcing referee Marlon Wright to stop the onslaught at 1:47 of the third round.  

This performance left everyone in attendance in awe. When Pascal fights, you want to save your blinking for in-between rounds. He's that fast, and that good. When asked when he will fight a champion, Jermain Taylor's name came up. Pascal answered "Sooner rather than later". I wouldn't bet against this kid.  

Also appearing on the show was John Murray, a young talent who flew in all the way from Manchester, England. Tyrone Wiggins (Donnell's older brother) was the other man to share the ring with the undefeated prospect. If he only knew of the punishment he would have to endure and eventually succumb to in this fight, he would've undoubtedly stayed home.  

Murray showcased the art of inside fighting and the rewards that can be reaped by targeting the body consistently. In the fifth, the inevitable happened; the body work had completely broken down the overmatched Wiggins who eventually sprawled to the canvas and was unable to rise from the canvas. Murray was thousands of miles from Manchester but felt right at home when the fans in attendance chanted his name in appreciation. With the win, Murray improves his record to 15-0 (8KO).  

Undefeated Quebec and Canadian 154lb champion Sébastien "Double Trouble" Demers (12-0, 5KOs) was also on hand and made easy work of Calvin Shakir earning a TKO victory in round two. Martin Desjardins and Paul Clavette both scored six-round shutouts over their opponents; Ferenc Lankonde and Esteban Cordova respectively.  

The full afternoon of action was presented by GYM Promotions.

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