Jean-Yves Thériault Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault (, born 15 December 1962) is the former bassist for Canadian thrash/progressive metal band Voivod. He co-founded the band and appeared on the first six albums – ''War and Pain'', ''Rrröööaaarrr'', ''Killing T ...

vs. Don "The Dragon" Wilson was a

middleweight Middleweight is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the middleweight division is contested above and up to . Early boxing history is less than exact, but the middleweight designation seems to have be ...

kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sports, combat sport focused on kicking and punch (strike), punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is pract ...

bout that took place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada on December 18, 1984, which ended in a decision draw.

Background

began his career in 1976 after six months of training and rose to prominence when he defeated Robert Biggs to win the

PKA PKA may refer to: * Professionally known as: ** Pen name ** Stage persona * p''K''a, the symbol for the acid dissociation constant at logarithmic scale * Protein kinase A, a class of cAMP-dependent enzymes * Pi Kappa Alpha, the North-American so ...

Middleweight Championship of the World in November 1980. He had accumulated a record of 47 wins and 3 losses by the time of the fight, mostly competing in his home country of

Canada 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 tot ...

. His last lost was in November 1979 when he dropped a decision to Ralph Hollet. Don "The Dragon" Wilson came from a kung fu (White Dragon Style) and

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

(Goju Ryu) background and started his career fighting in his native

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in 1974. After winning the Florida state and American titles, he took the WKA Light Heavyweight Championship of the World in October 1980 when he defeated Andy White by knockout. He defended the title six times before winning the KICK World Light Heavyweight title from Curtis Crandall and the WKA Cruiserweight World title from Maurice Smith in 1983. Thériault and Wilson had been set to fight years earlier when Wilson defeated

Rodney Batiste Rodney Batiste (born 1953) is an American karateka. He has also studied the taekwondo system of Jhoon Goo Rhee. Biography Batiste grew up in Brooklyn and attended George W. Wingate High School. Batiste began his study of martial arts when he wa ...

in July 1980 in an eliminator for the vacant PKA Middleweight title. The fight never materialised, however, due to a number of contractual and promotional issues, and Thériault faced Robert Biggs instead.

The fight

The bout took place on December 18, 1984 at the

Verdun Auditorium The Verdun Auditorium is an arena located in the borough of Verdun, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The building was constructed in 1938 and holds 4,114 seats. The largest arena in the west end of Montreal, the complex is also home to Arena Denis Sa ...

in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in front of 7,000 spectators, with the fight set for twelve, two-minute rounds under

American kickboxing Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

rules. Neither fighter put any of their titles on the line. The fight went the distance and ended in a decision draw. Many believe Wilson to have been a clear winner, but Thériault was the one who registered the only knockdown of the fight.

Aftermath

As arguably the biggest bout in the sport's history at the time, it was considered a disappointment with neither Thériault or Wilson emerging as kickboxing's best fighter. A rematch between the pair was discussed but never came to fruition. Following the fight, Wilson said "''I feel I won the bout, but not as convincing as I can. Next time we meet, I feel I can knock Thériault out. He's just not that tough.''" To which Thériault replied "''Wilson fights on fear. He was able to stay out of trouble, but he did nothing to hurt me. I think he overrates himself. We'll see if he's so smug after the next fight''".Controversy is Big Winner in Wilson-Theriault Draw
/ref> In an interview with

Black Belt Black Belt may refer to: Martial arts * Black belt (martial arts), an indication of attainment of expertise in martial arts * ''Black Belt'' (magazine), a magazine covering martial arts news, technique, and notable individuals Places * Black B ...

, Wilson spoke about rematches, and expressed frustration at Thériault not agreeing to fight him again.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Theriault, Wilson Kickboxing events 1984 in kickboxing Kickboxing in Canada Sport in Montreal