After 31 years, a boxing title fight was finally held in Toronto on Saturday, when Canadian Adonis Stevenson knocked out Tommy Karpency in the third round to defend his WBC light heavyweight title at Ricoh Coliseum. Back in 1984, Aaron "The Hawk" Pryor fought his lone fight outside of the United States at the University of Toronto's Varsity Stadium, defeating hometown fighter Nicky Furlano over 15 rounds to defend his IBF super lightweight title.

This time however, it was the Canadian who was the heavy favourite heading into the fight and rightfully so. Karpency's most notable win to date had come a year ago in an upset against former division king, Chad Dawson. Boxing's top prospect Errol Spence appeared on the televised undercard, knocking out Chris van Heerden in the eighth round.

While fans around the world clamour for a light heavyweight unification fight between Stevenson and Sergey Kovalev, this event had the potential to have a major impact on Toronto's local boxing scene.
The crowd Saturday was far from a sellout, however there was a sense of elation from the boxing fans on hand. This was a group that was desperate to watch meaningful boxing fights that have international impact, rather than simply watching local fighters pitted against each other.

The event was promoted by Yvon Michel, alongside Global Legacy Boxing, MLSE and former undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis, who aims to put Toronto boxing back on the map. 

"Boxing is on the rise," the Kitchener, Ontario native told TSN 1050 leading up to the fight. "Fans won't have to fly down to Las Vegas to see a great fight. They can just head downtown."
Michel hopes to have a few cards a year in Toronto going forward.

"Toronto is a great city for major sports," Stevenson's promoter said. "We've found the partners needed to make this a success and to do it again on a regular basis."

Quebec, particularly Montreal, has done a fantastic job putting on boxing cards and churning out top level fighters that challenge for titles in Montreal and around the world, while the rest of Canada has struggled to have any sort of output. Lucian Bute, Jean Pascal, Adonis Stevenson, Jo Jo Dan, Dierry Jean are just some of the Quebec fighters in recent years who have either held or challenged for world titles. 

On the other hand, fighters from the Greater Toronto Area haven't had the opportunity to showcase their talents in a major fight in Toronto. Steve Molitor, who trained out of Mississauga, defended his title numerous times in Rama, Ontario during his stints as the IBF super bantamweight champion. Brampton's Troy Ross meanwhile, challenged for the IBF cruiserweight title twice in Germany (losing in controversial fashion both times), where many of the major cruiserweight fights are held.

Spike TV aired the broadcast in the United States, as part of the Premier Boxing Champions series. While HBO, Showtime and ESPN have televised fights in Quebec on numerous occasions, no card in the rest of Canada in recent years had any interest for viewers across the globe. Spike TV averaged a viewership of 581 000, which has been on par with similar caliber fights held in other cities. 

While many top Canadian fighters are signed with Michel and rival promotion Interbox, it will take time for top level fighters to come out of Toronto and be the headliner for a Toronto card. For now however, hosting events which has one of the two best light heavyweights in the world headlining with a hot prospect on the undercard, is a major step in the right direction for Toronto boxing and its future fighters.