Jean signed with Baxter earlier this year, and picked up his first win on the comeback trail, stopping Abraham Gomez in six rounds on September 29. It was an emotional moment for Jean, who had finally gotten his promising career back on track.
But Jean is past gunning for sentimental victories now. On December 15 he will bump it up to an eight rounder against an opponent to be named shortly, with an eye towards returning in front of his home Montreal crowd in the near future—and contending for a world title once again.
The 36-year-old has shared the ring with the best in the world, fighting for the world championship against Terence Crawford and Lamont Peterson in addition to serving as long-time training partner to future Hall of Famer Manny Pacquiao.
“Dierry is one of the very best Canadian boxers of this era. He was fighting on HBO and Showtime during a time when fighters in this country weren’t getting any television exposure whatsoever,” said Baxter. “With his talent level and name recognition, we know he can get back to that place again, and there’s no better market to start in than downtown Toronto.”
Jean will be fighting in the Coca-Cola Coliseum in the heart of Toronto, a venue which has hosted two world title fights in the past—Adonis Stevenson vs. Tommy Karpency, and Stevenson vs. Badou Jack, a card co-promoted by Lee Baxter Promotions.
“We’ve held a world title fight before, but now we want to do it with our very own fighters. We have a collection of talent that’s knocking on the door of title contention, and Dierry is as close or closer than anyone to getting that opportunity. This time, he won’t let it go to waste,” said Baxter.
ABOUT THIS EVENT:
Lee Baxter Promotions, in association with Athlete Development and Management (A.D.A.M.) will present “Risky Business,” live championship professional boxing at the newly renamed Coca-Cola Colisseum in downtown Toronto, Ontario.
The Coca Cola Coliseum is the home of the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, and a spot for some of the city’s biggest concerts and attractions, including WWE wrestling.
In the main event, Samuel Vargas will return home to face the undefeated Adrian Gabriel Pereiro, as he begins a new campaign at light welterweight. Vargas is fresh off a thrilling bout with former world champion Amir Khan. Despite coming up short on the scorecards, Vargas not only gained fans, but proved to have plenty of them already. The Colombian-Canadian banger dropped Khan early in the bout, and had him hurt later on in the contest as well. In the end, the fight was the most-watched in the history of U.K. subscription television.
Vargas is now honing his craft in training camp in Spain alongside former welterweight champion Kell Brook, as he is determined to return to Canada an improved fighter.
In the co-feature of the night, an old fashioned local rivalry comes to a boil, as Patrice Volny battles Ryan Young.
Volny scored the biggest win of his career in September, as he dominated veteran Albert Onolunose to capture both the WBA-NABA and WBO-NABO middleweight crowns. The victory situates him in a prime spot within the world rankings in two major sanctioning bodies, remarkably, just twelve fights into his professional career.
Another one of Canada’s top middleweights, Steve Rolls, will be in tough against KeAndrae Leatherwood. Both men have enjoyed significant national television exposure, having graduated from the esteemed ShoBox series on Showtime.
The card will also feature local favorite Nick Fantauzzi against Marco Parente in a light heavyweight contest, Bollywood star Neeraj Goyat, heavyweight sensation Kristian Prenga, the professional debut of Iranian amateur standout Salar Gholami, and the remarkable return Moncef “Buddy” Askri after an 11-year hiatus from the sport of boxing.