PROMOTER Seon Bristol of BrisO Promotions believes that his June 5 ‘Deadly Encounters’ which is set to take place at the Princess Hotel and Casino will be boxing at its best. The Card will be headlined by Guyana’s ‘Deadly’ Denny Dalton and Porto Rico’s Hector ‘Machito’ Camacho Jr; fighting for the vacant WBF Intercontinental middleweight title while their under-card would see the highly anticipated rematch between Shondel Alfred and Corinne Van Ryck De Groot for the Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) Bantamweight title.
Also featuring on the card is Guyana’s first female world Champion Gwendolyn ‘The Stealth Bomber’ O’Neil and her long-time foe Veronica Blackman, clashing for the WIBA heavyweight title.
Bristol, speaking to the local media at a press conference held at the fight venue, declared that he’s extremely satisfied with the way the card is being embraced by the fighters as well as the people of Guyana since it will be a historical event.
The Princess Hotel and Casino will be following the likes of many in the US, more popularly the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, to stage championship boxing at its venue and this Bristol says will add a different way to how the sport is being promoted and executed in Guyana.
“Well, right now we’re working nicely with the Guyana Boxing Board of Control and then we are working closely with the Hotel to make sure that we match any other Hotel and Casino around the world who hosts boxing and other sports,” the promoter said.
He added that for too long Guyana has been producing world champions and world class fighters and it was only right that the Land of Many Waters have a chance to stage boxing at its best.
General Manager of the Hotel that houses Guyana’s only casino, Muharrem Kulekci, said that when given the idea about staging such a card at his business place, he immediately took a left hook at it because of the spin off it brings.
“It can bring a lot of exposure to not only the hotel and the casino, but for Guyana so it will be something in it for us,” Kulekci said. He also pointed out that “it’s events like these we need in Guyana and at the hotel and again I think it can do good for the hotel and everyone else as well because boxing takes place at many hotels in the world, so we are happy to be the first here to do so”
The 32-year-old Hector Camacho Jr, son of a famed former World Champion, has stepped into the ring 51 times, winning 48 of those encounters, 28 by the technical knock-out route (TKO) and has suffered only three losses and one draw in his career.
Dalton’s record, on the other hand, stands at 16 wins, 11 by TKO, eight losses and one draw from 26 fights. He has lost his last two showing in the square circle including his local and WBC CABOFE middleweight titles.
Meanwhile after a merry-go-round trail, Alfred, who became Guyana’s seventh world champion last year with her win over De Groot, will finally put her case of a fair win aside when the two clash.
De Groot, an American Gladiator by profession, claimed that her loss to the ‘Mystery Lady’ was unjust and had immediately called for a rematch which was granted by the WIBA.
The ‘Stealth Bomber’ wrote her name in the history books in 2004 when she lifted the WIBA heavyweight title with a stunning win over American Kathy Rivers at the National Park but later went on to lose the belt to Laila Ali in 2007.
Blackman has only seven fights to her name as compared to O’Neil’s 21 and has never fought for a world title. O’Neil who is on a comeback trail, has promised to make it an early night and has sent out some serious warning to her match.
According to Bristol, there will be several amateur fights on the card as well as a clash between Elton Dharry and Orlando Rogers.