GBBC/GABA ProAm FNF
… Boatswain and Thomas in box-off for CAC spot
BOXING fans, who intend to throng the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) on  Friday night for the fourth stanza in the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC)/Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA)-organised Friday Night Fights (FNF), can expect a treat for their money, as all pugilists who are set to appear, are fit, ready and raring to go.
None more so than Troy Lewis and Iwan Azore, who promised to pummel each other to the canvas en route to victory, at a heated press conference held in the studios of the National Communications Network (NCN) Channel 11 yesterday afternoon.
“I saw what my friend Quincy Benn did to him, I also saw him fight in Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) and certainly such a display cannot guarantee him a victory over me at all.
Even the fact that he has the fastest knockout in the present FNF means nothing to me. I am so confident that I am looking past him and focusing on the World Boxing Council (WBC) CABOFE welterweight title that is being held by T&T’s Kevin Placide.”
Those words came out of the mouth of Azore the reigning welterweight champion, when asked for his opinion on his upcoming bout against a man, who not only scored the fastest knockout, but is 2-0 in the GBBC/GABA FNF.
But Lewis refused to play possum and let his opponents’ words rest like still waters, when he responded by promising to maintain his unbeaten streak that began in the FNF.
“This is not the Lewis of yesteryear and certainly you will come to realise that after I dispose of you Friday night. You are, simply put: Iwan Azore, another victim for Troy Lewis.”
The bantering between the two continued for approximately five minutes, creating much hype for the main bout and taking away the gloss from the other three bouts on a prestigious card that is set to take place one week before a historic card.
But while the two stole the show at the press conference, there is an amateur bout featuring Guyana Defence Force’s Devon Boatswain and Harpy Eagles’ Dennis Thomas, which will be a box-off for a spot on the national team that will contest the Central American and Caribbean Games boxing championships in Puerto Rico later this year.
The first time they met, Boatswain, who also competes on the bodybuilding stage, bullied his opponent en route to a convincing victory over Thomas who ran out of steam, but vowed to not only avenge that defeat, but also give a better performance.
According to Boatswain’s coach and the tournament director on the amateur side of things, national coach Terence Poole, he would give the edge to Boatswain in this bout, even though he refuses to take anything away from Thomas, who is a fantastic pugilist.
“The GABA knew about the CAC Games and were using the ProAm fights as a stepping stone to take us into same. Having said that, Boatswain has been working hard at his training on a daily basis not only for the ProAm Fights, but also to gain a spot on the CAC team and with this in mind, I tip him to come out victorious, while taking nothing away from Thomas,” Poole stated.
Asked to respond, Thomas offered apologies for his mediocre performance the first time around, but promised to make amends, as he knows what to expect from his opponent this time around.
“He will bring the fight to me, as he seems to need the spot on the team more than I do. But for me, it is always a joy to represent your country in any sport and certainly in this box-off, I intend to come out victorious as I have always dreamt of representing my country.”
With Veronica London accepting the challenge to face Guyana’s first female champion Gwendolyn ‘Stealth Bomber’ O’Neil for the vacant World International Boxing Association (WIBA) female heavyweight title, Linden’s Sharon Warde now has a new opponent in Kwinda Rogers who hails from the Ancient County of Berbice.
The other two fights on the professional side of things pit Shawn Pile, who will be travelling to Barbados to take on Miguel Antoine for the WBC/CABOFE junior welterweight title next month, against Clifton Barker, and Eversley Browne will be looking to avenge his defeat in the FNF when he faces Kwesi Jones in a middleweight encounter.
Kick-starting things for the evening will be the amateur bouts which, according to vice-president of the GABA, Raj Kumar, have certainly been an appetiser on the FNF, a promotion that has been receiving valuable support from corporate Guyana since its birth in February.
“No longer has amateur boxing been centred in Georgetown alone, as we have been having fighters from as far as Linden and Berbice showcase their talent on the FNF and this speaks volumes for boxing.
“Come Friday night, there will be a box-off for a place on the CAC Games, wherein the GABA will be looking to send an eight-man team comprising of five boxers to represent Guyana and at the next important boxing card there will be another box-off for a place on the team.”
He continued, “There is no doubt in the minds of boxing fans, that Clevon Rock, Guyana’s silver medallist at the 2009 Commonwealth Games in India, is an automatic choice on the team.
And with Boatswain and Thomas boxing off for another place, we will have another box-off next Saturday, when Troy Billy faces Orlando Allicock on the under card of the Denny ’Deadly’ Dalton/Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho Jr clash at the Princess Hotel.”
With regard to the decentralising of amateur bouts in Guyana, Kumar was referring to the junior flyweight bout between Lawrence Stewart of Forgotten Youth Gym (FYG) and Port Kaituma’s George Anthony.
The other two amateur bouts on the card will see current featherweight champion Ray Sandiford oppose the crowd-pleasing Nandkumar Singh, who has already been tagged the ‘New Coolie Bully’ by many, following his emphatic display on his first outing in the last FNF.
President of the GBBC, Peter Abdool, and his vice-president Andrew Thorne are pleased at the way the ProAm FNF has been bridging the gap between the GBBC and the GABA and urged boxing fans to throng the venue for what will be an exciting night of boxing. Thorne further stated that the FNF were the fruits of hard labour.
Abdool also took the time to thank the following sponsors such as Digicel, Courts (Guyana) Limited, Giftland OfficeMax, Guyoil and Ansa McAl Limited, with the latter opting to double their efforts this time around.