Following in teammates Lucian Bute and Sebastien Gauthier footsteps, it is now up to the hard hitting Pier-Olivier Côté (17-0-0, 11 KO) to answer the call and get ready to face the best opponent of his career. On November 5th at the Pepsi Coliseum, the man they call “Apou” will step into the ring against Jorge Luis Teron (25-2-1, 17 KO) with the IBF Intercontinental 140 pound title on the line.
A former 3-time Golden Gloves Champion in the amateur ranks in the State of New York, Teron, 26 years old, will fight outside the United States for the first time in his career. One of Teron’s only two losses ame at the hands of current WBA Lightweight champion Brandon Rios (28-0-0, 21 KO). Teron and Côté have a common opponent in Michael Lozada. Côté disposed of Lozada in less than a round last March, while Teron beat him by TKO in the 6th round back in 2008.
Pier-Olivier Côté’s streak of 4 consecutive victories by knockout came to an end last July 9th 2011 in Bucharest, Romania where he scored a unanimous decision against “tough as nails” boxer Pedro Navarrete. Côté is no stranger to big fights in his own backyard of Quebec City.
On November 2009 he captured the Canadian Lightweight championship title with a unanimous decision against Jason Hayward. “I am extremely proud to be fighting for an IBF title. This fight is in my City and I wish November 5th was tomorrow! I am already in training, and have already begun looking at tapes of my opponent. This is a big challenge for me, as Teron has lots of experience but I have to beat him in order to get to the next level” states Pier-Olivier Côté.
“Pier-Olivier is a big part of our future and we want to test him in significant challenges to assure his progression to the top of his division. This bout against Teron will be in his own backyard, where he will have the support of the crowd. A victory on November 5th, which is far from a given, will open new doors for Pier-Olivier’s career. Our November 5th Gala is starting to take shape, and I believe all sports enthusiasts will be excited about Bute vs. Johnson, Gauthier vs. Molitor and Côté vs. Teron,” declares Interbox President Mr. Jean Bédard.
