A new wave of Canadian boxing prospects was showcased this past weekend in Quebec City by Eye of the Tiger Management (EOTTM) on its popular Fight Night Series. EOTTM’s new wave includes Schiller Hyppolite (13-1, 9 KOs) and undefeated welterweight “Super” Mian Hussain (10-0, 5 KOs), who were both victorious last Saturday night in impressive performances.
The 28-year-old Hyppolite outclassed Irish super middleweight champion J.J. “Slick” McDonagh (10-3) for his eighth consecutive win, taking a unanimous 10-round decision by scores of 99-91, 98-92 and 96-94. A native of Haiti, Hyppolite is following closely in the footsteps of his fellow countrymen – Stiverne, Jean, Adonis Stevenson and Jean Pascal.
Hyppolite is climbing the ladder, recently cracking the WBC’s top 25 ratings at No. 24.
“Schiller showed good discipline against a very strong opponent,” EITTM president Camille Estephan commented. “The Irish kid said after the fight that Schiller would be a world champion. He definitely has the goods. When people talk about (Jean) Pascal and (Adonis) Stevenson, who both started out at 168 pounds, Schiller is definitely in the same league. After 14 fights, he’s more advance than Pascal and Stevenson at the same stage of their careers. We have very high hopes for Hyppolite.”
Hussian is a 24-year-old southpaw fighting out of Montreal like Hyppolite. He defeated Swiss veteran Flavio Turelli by way of an eight-round unanimous decision by identical scores of 78-73.
Hussian showed the heart of a champion gutting out this victory having suffered a torn tendon in his bicep during the opening round. Any movement thereafter caused severe pain for Hussian, who was decked for the first time in the second round.
“He didn’t know what was wrong at first and he couldn’t block a punch,” Estephan noted. “He was dropped for the first time but he went on to beat his opponent with one arm. It was a sensational performance, under the circumstances, for him to go eight rounds to win. He almost knocked out the guy a few times throwing double hooks.
Going into the fight I thought he’d be a major star someday. Now, I’m even more convinced. Hussian is another David Lemieux. He has a lot of power, good speed and effectively counter punches.”
One of the top teenage prospects in the world, undefeated junior middleweight Steve Butler (3-0, 2 KO), was supposed to fight last Saturday in Quebec City but his scheduled opponent failed a pre-fight medical exam.
The 18-year-old Butler is the youngest Canadian National Champion ever, in addition to being the grandson of former Canadian junior middleweight Marshall Butler (20-5, 15 KOs). He won 48 of 54 amateur bouts with one draw, highlighted by only one loss in his last 35 matches. His impressive lists of accomplishments includes four-time winner of the Bronze Glove Tournament, as well as gold-medal performances at the Silver Glove, Adidas and Golden Gloves tournaments.
“It was very disappointing for all of us for Steven not getting a chance to fight,” Estephan noted. He’s a great kid who works very hard. I wanted to get him in the ring as soon as possible and this Friday in Montreal against Sylwester Walczak on a show co-promoted by GYM and InterBox. Steven needs experience to learn. We want him to get in some rounds and he’s fighting a guy capable of upsetting prospects. He’s a much better than his record may indicate (4-14-1). He went the distance with Mian and some other good fighters (including former European champion Lenny Daws). We’re interested to see how Steven does with him.
“Steven is already the darling of the Quebec boxing scene,” Estephan noted. “He is the future of boxing!”
