Press Release | Rematch set For WBC Bridgerweight Belt, October 22
A World Boxing Council (WBC) Bridgerweight title fight will finally come down on October 22nd, in the bewitching atmosphere of L’Olympia de Montréal, a renovated venue that has kept its captivating cachet.
Adopted Quebecer and WBC No. 1 contender for the vacant WBC title, Oscar “Kaboom” Rivas (27-1, 19 KO) will face American and No. 3 rated Bryant Jennings (24-4, 14 KO), of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
This showdown marks the return of American television to Canada for the first time since December 2018, as ESPN + retained the broadcast rights to the fight in the United States.
Rivas was ranked among the world's top 5 heavyweights when he was selected as the No. 1 contender in the WBC’s newly created division. In his last fight this past March, he easily disposed of Sylvera Louis by retirement in the 3rd round.
This will be the second clash between Jennings and Rivas, who fought an extremely contested duel on January 2019, in Verona, New York. Also broadcast by ESPN +, Rivas-Jennings I was virtually even after 11 rounds. At the start of the last round, Rivas attacked with an aggressive and intense push to send the American to the floor, and subsequently forced the referee to end the hostilities. Since that time, the Philadelphia boxer has been calling for a rematch.
A total of 6 boxing matches are planned for this magnificent evening.
The return of the charismatic Sébastien Bouchard (19-2, 8 KO) is confirmed, He will be back in the ring for the second time in 2021, after suffering a major injury against Ayaz Hussain in Quebec in 2019.
Alexandre Roberge (1-1) and Francis Charbonneau (3-1, 1 KO) caused a stir March 16th in their 6-round confrontation, which was won by Charbonneau via split decision. The two young boxers will pick up where they left off with another 6-round fight.
The evening's other fights will be announced later this week.
The Oct. 22nd event, presented in association with Mise-O-Jeu, will mark the 49th world Championship fight promoted by GYM since its founding in 2004.
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Rivas vs. Jennings Rematch, For Bridgerweight Title, on June 18 in Montreal
Longtime heavyweight veteran Bryant Jennings will get the opportunity at revenge, when he faces Oscar Rivas in a rematch on June 18 in Montreal. However, the venue for the clash has not yet been determined.
The two boxers will collide in the first ever WBC title fight in the bridgerweight division - a new weight division the sanctioning body recently created. The weight limit spans from 200 to 224-pounds.
"After Oscar's victory on March 16, I mentioned that the fight against Jennings was shaking up the sleeve," promoter Yvon Michel told Mathieu Boulay of The Montreal Journal.
"Based on the lack of interest in from the Jennings camp, we spoke with Kevin Lerena's promoter, Rodney Berman. Lerena is ranked number 2 [at bridgerweight].
“The WBC even sanctioned the fight. However, the Jennings clan, Top Rank and the ESPN network returned to the table to strike a deal.”
At the start of the negotiations, Jennings wanted a large amount of money to face Rivas. According to the paper, ESPN decided to accept Jennings' initial request.
“I received the signed contract from Jennings in the last few hours. As for Rivas, he will sign it on Friday at our office. It will finalize everything," Michel said.
The two boxers collided for the first time on January 18, 2019 in New York State. It was a very close fight, with Rivas rallying in the late rounds to stop Jennings in the twelfth and final round of action.
