WAYNE `Big Truck’ Braithwaite proved that he could stand up against all odds when he retained the World Boxing Council International cruiserweight title and took away Dale Brown’s North American Boxing Federation (NABF) cruiserweight crown on February 12, 2000.A hard-hitting southpaw from Plaisance on the East Coast of Demerara, Braithwaite, due to visa problems, arrived in the USA at 04:30hrs for the fight which was held at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut.
The `Big Truck’ arrived in the USA without mouthpiece, cup, trunks or trainer and was forced to take Bobby Cassidy, who was looking for a ticket to the fight, to work his corner. The result was several rounds of punishment for the Canadian Brown, which compelled referee Vic Drakulich to call a halt at one minute and 44 seconds of the eighth round.
The win was the 11th straight for Braithwaite who also earned his eighth stoppage. Two years later the undefeated Guyanese became the second from his country to win a world title following a 10th round TKO of Vincenzo Cantatore.