Lucas Bahdi Exclusive Interview: ‘Excited to Show Them the Next Level’

Not only is Lucas Bahdi (18-0, 15 KOs) ready for his upcoming fight, but he also has his sights on what lies ahead.

The Canadian lightweight contender will take on Ryan Racaza (15-0, 11 KOs) on March 7. Their bout headlines a Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) card at the Great Canadian Casino Resort in Toronto, Canada. Boxing fans globally will be able to catch the action live on DAZN.

Bahdi made his professional boxing debut in May 2019 and for the next five years, he fought in either Canada or México. In July of last year, he took on Ashton Sylve. He was losing every round of that fight until the sixth, in which he put together a series of punches that knocked Sylve out cold. Bahdi would eventually sign a promotional deal with MVP and will have his third fight in a row with the company on Friday.

Ahead of his clash against Racaza, Big Fight Weekend got to speak with Bahdi. Below are quotes from the interview.

Lucas Bahdi Speaks to Big Fight Weekend

Lucas Bahdi on His Amateur Days

Bahdi spent many years on the amateur circuit, competing in both Canadian and international competitions.

“When I first started I was fighting pretty often, like 10-15 times a year, competing at the provincial level and then eventually the national level and then international level. I made the national team my first time in 2014 and I carried through to 2018 and then the following year was when I turned pro. I had about 100 amateur fights.”

During his time as an amateur boxer, he credits the fighters around him for their support and for pushing him to strive for better.

“I had a really good foundation of fighters around me in the gym so we kinda all motivated each other in the gym. I remember going to [my] first national championships, there was like four or five of us and I think three or four walked out with gold and I walked out with silver. It motivated me for the following year.”

“I didn’t want to be one of the guys on the team that didn’t get the gold. The next year it was my first year as a senior and I won it. So it was huge. I was the senior national champion at the time. I had a great stable of fighters around me [where]we all learned from each other.”

On Deciding to Turn Professional

However, like fellow Canadian Sara Bailey, he experienced some challenges as an amateur boxer in the province ofOntario. As time went on, he began to feel that his style was better suited to the professional ranks.

“My main focus was actually the Olympics and I kinda changed direction based on the way things were going. I don’t want to get into the politics side, things like that, but, I was knocking guys out in the amateurs, especially near the end of my career and I thought ‘you know what? I’m made for the pros.’ Especially when you take [off] the little gloves [used for amateur boxing], it changes everything. It turns out I do have a suited professional style.”

Although he is now a contender at lightweight and very close to a shot at a world title, Bahdi says that his career had been moving slowly prior to his knockout win over Sylve. When he got the offer for the fight, he knew that he had to make the most of the opportunity.

“It was moving slowly. It was moving a lot slower than I expected. It’s very, very hard for fighters in Canada to break through to that global, international stage. I thought it was going to happen much sooner. It was hard to get the opportunity and being from Canada no one really takes you seriously and we don’t have any major platforms in Canada, any promoters that have major platforms. So, when I got that call [to fight Sylve], I knew that this is my opportunity and I got to take it.”

Lucas Bahdi on His Upcoming Fight Against Ryan Racaza

Bahdi says that his fight against Racaza will be a showcase of “the next level” of his skillset.

“It’s my first time fighting a southpaw [professionally], so it’s going to be a bit of a change for me. But, I’ve prepared myself accordingly and I’m excited to give the fans a great fight. I’ve trained very hard and I had a great camp so I’m excited to show them the next level of what I’ve got in my toolbox.”

According to Bahdi, the selection of Racaza as an opponent was intentional.

“We wanted a southpaw because most of the champions right now are southpaw. So, we don’t want to be surprised when we do get the world championship call and we got to fight a southpaw. We don’t want any surprises so I figured I might as well get ready now for them. So we needed a southpaw and we picked him. He’s an undefeated fighter. He’s a very good prospect from The Philippines and he was one of the guys that was willing to take the fight.”

Big Fight Weekend will be in attendance for Bahdi’s upcoming clash against Racaza. Be sure to stay tuned for coverage that will include results, video highlights, and post-fight analysis of the intriguing contest.