Canadian Welter Lupo Finally Gets WBC International Shot

Canadian welterweight Victor Lupo finally gets his well deserved title shot December 17 against former world title challenger Antonin Decarie for the vacant WBC International Welterweight Championship at Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City.

Lupo (19-1-2, 9 KOs), who lives in Toronto, become the mandatory challenger last February by defeating former world champion Junior Witter (37-3-2) by a 10-round decision for the vacant WBC International Silver title. The reigning WBC International champion, Phil “The Italian Sensation” Lo Greco, was recently stripped of his title belt for refusing to fight Lupo.

“I worked very hard to become the mandatory challenger,” WBC #19-rated Lupo said, “but I couldn’t force Lo Greco to fight me. I’m excited to be getting my chance against Decarie, a good fighter who will be fighting at home. I didn’t care if I had to fight him on the moon. I’ve waited a long time for this opportunity and plan on taking full advantage.

“He struggled to beat Irving Garcia (majority decision) last year, so he’s going to be in serious trouble when he gets in the ring with me. I’m going to turn up the heat, pressuring him from the opening bell, break him down and then finish the show. I will not be denied. ”

Lupo is a former Canadian welterweight and WBC Fedecentro middleweight champion. The fan-friendly fighter’s only career loss as a pro was four years ago to Paul Clevette by way of a controversial eight round majority decision. The rugged Romanian has been on a mission to capture the WBC International title for the past few years.

WBC #26-rated Decarie, fighting out of Quebec, lost a 12-round unanimous decision to Souleymane M’baye a year ago for the interim WBA welterweight crown. He is a past Canadian light welterweight and NABO welterweight champion.

“Lupo earned this title shot,” noted his promoter Adam Harris (Hennessy Sports). “Nothing has ever been given to Victor. He did everything he could to get a title shot against Lo Greco, but that’s history and now he’s focused on defeating Decarie and bringing the title belt home to Toronto.

“Boxing fans love to watch an aggressive, pressuring fighter like Victor because they always get their money’s worth. This will be the next step for Lupo on his way to a world title fight, hopefully, sometime late next year. It was great working with Yvon Michel (GYM Promotions) to make this fantastic All-Canadian bout.”