Collette continues quest for shot
Bouctouche boxer moves to 8-1 with first-round knockout victory
SHEDIAC - Bouctouche's Julie Collette continues to make a case for himself in his quest for a Canadian heavyweight boxing title fight.
The 31-year-old Bouctouche resident improved his professional record to 8-1 with a first-round knockout victory over Matt Anderson of Minnesota before a capacity crowd of 1,200 Saturday night at the Shediac Festival Arena.
Six of Collette's eight victories have been by knockout.
Promoter Dwayne Storey, of New Generation Boxing, expected Anderson to be a more challenging opponent for Collette than he showed Saturday night.
"Anderson's biggest mistake might have been coming out hard and firing (Collette) up," Storey said. "Once he was fired up, he dropped Anderson five times in the first round and finished him off with a series of upper cuts."
Collette is listed sixth in national rankings and he owns the Maritime and Eastern Canadian championship belts. Storey believes it is only a matter of time before he challenges for the national title.
"We've got to get him a few more rounds," the promoter said. "He looks good. He looks ready. I'm sure it won't be long before he gets a shot at the national title."
Anderson's record fell to 6-6-1.
Meanwhile, Shediac's Emile Arsenault, who is seventh in the Canadian cruiserweight rankings, improved his record to 5-1 with a first-round technical knockout win over Todd Henry of Moncton. Henry, a mixed martial arts veteran, saw his pro boxing record drop to 4-2.
Moncton's Jonah Arbuckle, No. 4 in the national middleweight rankings, recorded a third-round TKO win over John Hoffman of Minnesota.
Arbuckle's record improved to 7-2.
Storey said he's working on another professional boxing card and he hopes at least one Canadian title bout will be featured.
Eric Roy improved to 5-2 and successfully defended his Maritime light heavyweight title with a split decision win over Guy Desforges of Moncton.
Boiestown's Chris Norrad ran his record to 10-0 with a first-round knockout win over Fred Mallery of Petitcodiac. Six of Norrad's wins have been by knockout.
Former pro hockey player Kevin Cormier of Cap-Pelé earned his second straight first-round knockout win when he floored Danny Savoie in a heavyweight bout.
Patrick (The Kid) Arsenault of Shediac notched a unanimous decision win over Jason Bernava of Moncton for the New Brunswick super welterweight championship.
Ron Savoie of Eel River Crossing and Jeff McKay of Moncton fought to a draw in a middleweight fight.
This article was taken from: http://timestranscript.canadaeast.com
