Boxers who have fought exclusively in their home country usually pick a soft opponent when they finally decide to ply their trade in a foreign land. Apparently, Kevin Bizier never got such a memo—or simply ignored it.
Kevin Bizier, right, has fought exclusively in his native Quebec, Canada, his entire career, but he will take on Fredrick Lawson in Miami on November 7.
After staging his first 26 professional fights in his native Quebec, Canada, Kevin Bizier (24-2, 16 KOs) is taking his talents to Miami on November 7 for a 147-pound Premier Boxing Champions clash at Miccosukee Resort & Gaming (NBCSN, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).
Bizier’s opponent? Fredrick Lawson, he of the 24-0 record … with 20 knockouts. In other words, this is no tomato can, which is precisely the way Bizier wants it as he continues his quest for a title shot.
“This is exactly what I was waiting for,” Bizier says. “It is now my turn to prove I belong at the world-class level. I am going to make the most of this opportunity.”
At the very least, Bizier has to be happy that his opponent is anyone other than Jo Jo Dan, a fellow Quebec resident who is the only fighter to defeat Bizier, having done so twice via 12-round split decision. In their most recent clash in December, Bizier outpointed Dan on one card 114-113, and narrowly came up short on the other two (115-112 and 114-113).
The 31-year-old Bizier rebounded from his first loss to Dan in November 2013 with consecutive early-round TKOs against Carlos Leonardo Herrera (May 2014) and Laszio Fazekas (September 2014). That was followed by the second defeat to Dan, but Bizier again bounced back, this time with an eight-round, majority-decision victory over Fouad El Massoudi in his most recent outing in April.
Lawson, 26, comes into this fight off a 10-round split-decision victory over Breidis Prescott in March—the first time in his pro career that the native of Ghana prevailed by anything other than a stoppage or unanimous decision.
Lawson, who now fights out of Chicago, has been taken the distance three times in his last four fights after stopping 19 of his first 20 opponents. This will be his fourth straight bout in the U.S. after fighting exclusively in his home country.
“I would like to commend Kevin Bizier for having the courage to accept this fight,” says the 6-foot Lawson, who will have a three-inch height advantage against the 5-9 Bizier. “I know he is a good fighter, but this time he is way out of his league. Come November 7, I will show him why I’m the future of the welterweight division. This is the beginning of another era.”
The nationally televised card will also feature a 12-round, 140-pound battle between Walter Castillo (26-3, 19 KOs) and Keita Obara (15-1, 14 KOs).
Castillo has been idle since July, when he scored a third-round stoppage of Ammeth Diaz. The 26-year-old from Managua, Nicaragua, has won 10 of his last 11 bouts since mid-2012, the only blemish being a 10-round, unanimous-decision defeat to still-unbeaten Amir Imam in April.
Obara is a 28-year-old native of Tokyo who is riding a 13-fight knockout streak. Since starting his career with a TKO loss in August 2010, Obara has won 15 bouts in a row.
For complete coverage of both fights, visit our fight night page.
