Former WBA Light-Middleweight Champion Joachim Alcine Set To Return August 28th

by James Slater – 33-year-old Joachim Alcine of Canada is set to make his first ring appearance since losing his WBA light-middleweight title in stunning fashion last July. Stopped in highlight reel fashion in the 6th-round by Puerto Rican southpaw and former WBO welterweight and light-middleweight champ Daniel Santos, Alcine disappeared for the longest time afterwards..

Now, some 13 months on from his sole pro defeat, the man known as “Ti-Joa” is close to returning to action. According to BoxRec, the 30-1-1(19) former champ will box Philadelphia’s Eric “Murder” Mitchell in Montreal, Quebec on August 28th. Clearly stunned to have been KO’d in such devastating fashion by the talented Santos (who, interestingly, has not fought since last July either), Alcine will be in need of a hassle free confidence boost of a win against the 39-year-old with the 22-5-1(11) record. The last thing a returning fighter needs after being knocked flat in his last fight is a war. But what will Alcine have left today?

In no way has the Haiti-born fighter taken a lot of punishment, despite the brutal way he was stopped by Santos. The man who made boxing history when he out-pointed Travis Simms to take the WBA 154-pound belt in July of 2007 (as the first ever Haitian fighter to become a world champion) has had a relatively short amount of fights, even though he has been a pro for just over ten years. But wear and tear aside, what will Alcine’s mental strength be like as he makes his way back into a ring for the first time since being starched?

The long layoff Alcine has had may have done him some good, in that the time out he took gave him time to reflect on his career, but it’s almost a certainty that the 33-year-old will suffer from ring rust when he gets in there with Mitchell, who, incidentally, has never once been stopped as a pro. A talented fighter, Alcine looked set for a reasonably long reign after he beat Simms. However, only one successful defence followed – a points win over Alfonso Mosquera in December of 2007 – before the shock loss to Santos.

In a fight that was all but level on all three judges’ cards after five rounds, Santos suddenly pulled his awesome KO out from nowhere. Now Alcine looks to bounce back and make more boxing history – as the first Haitian fighter to win TWO world titles.

According to BoxRec, August 28th’s fight will be up at middleweight, so it’s possible that “Ti-Joa” is planning to campaign fulltime at 160 in his comeback. If he can get past the durable Mitchell – a fighter who was DQ’d against Danny Perez last time out and who has gone the full route with Ricardo Mayorga and, most impressively, has a 1st-round TKO win over former IBF super-middleweight champ Alejandro Berrio – Alcine will perhaps make a fine addition to the middleweight ranks.

It’s good to see Alcine back, but he sure took his time about it!