Didier Bence (born August 14, 1987) is a Canadian professional heavyweight boxer from
Laval, Quebec
Laval (; ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. It is in the southwest of the province, north of Montreal. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third-largest city in the province after Montreal and Quebec City, and the thirteenth largest city in C ...
.
He is best known for becoming a Canadian amateur
boxing
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...
champion as a teenager and winning bronze at the
2007 Pan American Games
The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Ol ...
, defeating two-time US champion
Mike Wilson twice in the process due to controversial stoppage at the 1:03 mark of the third round.
Being the most favorable participant of Pan American Games, walked away due to severe injury in his semifinal against Colombian
Oscar Rivas
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
and lost by walkover which earned him bronze. This injury didn't stop him to pursue his dream in commonwealth games
Joseph Parker and turning professional in 2011.
Amateur career
Bence, who was coached by Claude Bélanger, is 6 feet 1 inches tall and weighs 230 pounds, relying on extraordinary speed and power as a heavyweight.
Bence started boxing at the age of 14 and won the Canadian junior championships in 2005 and 2006 and the senior title at super heavyweight in 2007 till 2010.
He upset Mike Wilson on points in the PanAm qualifier (in Argentina) and faced him again in a bout at the main event in Rio de Janeiro which he won again this time by controversial stoppage at the 1:03 mark of the third round. Wilson had led by an 8-5 margin at the time of the stoppage.
Due to an injury, he couldn't participate in the semifinal against Colombian
Oscar Rivas
Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to:
People
* Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms.
* Oscar (Irish mythology), ...
and lost by walkover which earned him bronze. This injury also kept him from participating in the
2007 World Amateur Boxing Championships
The 2007 AIBA World Boxing Championships were held in Chicago, United States from October 23, 2007 to November 3, 2007. It was held at the UIC Pavilion. It was the biggest World Championships in AIBA history.
The competition is under the sup ...
.
In the middle of 2007 his record was 30-7.
At the end of 2007 he defended his national title in a tournament valid for 2008.
At the "
Copa Independencia" tournament in early 2008 he reached the final but lost to PanAm Champ
Robert Alfonso
Robert Leosdan Alfonso Acea (born November 11, 1986) is a Cuban professional boxer. He is best known for his victory at the 2007 Pan American games in the super heavyweight division.
Career
Alfonso beat Newfel Ouatah but lost to Russian Evge ...
.
Jeux de la francophone in 2009 lost by decision in the finals claiming a silver medal.
Continental championship lost against
Jorge Quiñonez
Jorge Washington Quiñónez Tenorio is an Ecuadorian boxer best known to win Heavyweight Bronze at the 2007 Pan American Games.
Career
At the PanAms he lost a razor-thin countback decision to Jose Julio Payares in the semifinal.
At the fi ...
in the finals against (Ecuador) 2010 taking the silver medal.
He finished the year featuring in the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. The then 23 years old in a fiery contest, charged in the third and final round when it appeared winning the fight. Parker was down 7:5 on points when he landed a decisive right hand to Bence's head with one minute 15 seconds remaining. It knocked the Canadian down and effectively ended the fight as
Joseph Parker registered the last nine points 14:7.
Joseph Parker then advanced to the quarterfinals, losing to Tariq Abdul Haqq.
At the second Olympic qualifier he lost 3:4 to
Michael Hunter jr. and didn't make it to Beijing.
Results Olympic qualifier
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End of his amateur career his record was 46-13.
Professional
He turned pro in 2011 and beat American amateur stars Joey Dawejko and Jonte Willis
Jonte Willis (born October 18, 1983 in Memphis, Tennessee - death January 4, 2022 Tacoma, Washington) is a former American heavyweight boxer best known for winning the US amateur championships at super heavyweight in 2006. He retired with a negat ...
and KOd undefeated countryman Eric Barrak (7-0) but was KOd by unknown Eric Martel Bahoeli (9-3) in 2013 and outpointed by Sylvera Louis (5-3) in 2014. It is believed that his failure to advance in his professional career was due to a misfortune, losing his boxing coach Claude Bélanger in 2012.
Professional record
, - style="margin:0.5em auto; font-size:95%;"
, style="text-align:center;" colspan="8", 10 Wins (3 knockouts, 7 decisions), 3 Loss, 0 Draw
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, Loss , , 10-3, , align=left, Avery Gibson
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Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
Cruiserweight Cruiserweight is a term associated with:
*Cruiserweight (boxing), a weight class in boxing between light heavyweight and heavyweight
* Cruiserweight (MMA), a weight class in mixed martial arts with an upper weight limit at .
*Cruiserweight (profess ...
title.
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, Win , , 10-1, , align=left, Rob Nichols
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, Win , , 3-0, , align=left, Pavels Dolgovs
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, align=left, Bence's pro debut.
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External links
Pro record
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bence, Didier
1987 births
Living people
French Quebecers
Heavyweight boxers
Super-heavyweight boxers
Sportspeople from Laval, Quebec
Canadian male boxers
Pan American Games bronze medalists for Canada
Pan American Games medalists in boxing
Boxers at the 2007 Pan American Games
Black Canadian boxers
Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games