Alfred/De Groot eager for battle; O’Neil/Blackman ready to rumble
AFTER months of planning and deliberation and days of trash talking and animosity filled rooms, judgment day has finally arrived. Tonight, the Princess Hotel and Casino will take centre stage as Bris ‘O’ Promotions present ‘Deadly Encounter’ – a four-fight boxing card that features Hector ‘Machito’ Camacho and ‘Deadly’ Denny Dalton clashing for the vacant WBF Middleweight Intercontinental Championship, along with the much anticipated rematch between WIBA Bantamweight Champion Shondell Alfred and Corrine De Groot.
Also on the card is Guyana’s first female World Champion Gwendolyn ‘Stealth Bomber’ O’Neil and she will do 10 rounds of an expected slugfest with Veronica Blackman for the vacant Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) Heavyweight title.
The headline fight is what many local and overseas boxing pundits are calling “style meets power” in reference to two fighters’ boxing technique.
Camacho grew up in the sport watching his father, Hector ‘Macho’ Camacho, a three-time world champion, take on some of the greats of the game and as such adopted all of his antics which led to his popularity in the boxing world, with his record standing at 51 wins from 56 fights with three defeats and a draw.
Dalton, on the other hand, is the trendsetter for his generation and has earned the respect for being one the hard hitters of the sport in Guyana and around the Caribbean.
The former WBC CABOFE Champion, who has a ring record of 16 wins from 25 fights, met his foe Camacho for the first time on Thursday last at the Princess Hotel and Casino Conference room and the atmosphere was filled with the smell and taste of war.
“It’s Junior time” herald across the room as Camacho’s followers shouted from the back while Dalton sat still with a blank expression on his face while his opponent lived up to his talkative ways.
“I came here to have fun and win. I know Denny came here in good shape, but this is my time and I will kick his ass, so this isn’t a walk in the park. I don’t know much about Denny Dalton but I got like almost 60 fights so that means I fought a lot of Denny Daltons. Yo, I have more knock-outs than he has wins so you (Dalton) are going to face a hell of a fighter and I hope you’re ready to put on a good show for your country,”  Camacho said.
But while Camacho seemed highly vociferous about his chances of stopping the Guyanese, Dalton, a born again Christian said that he is leaving all the talks for the ring and seeking God’s Holy intervention to see him through the 12 rounds of boxing against the American.
“First of all, I would like to thank God for giving me the strength for being here and I would like to thank Mr Bristol (Seon) for giving me the opportunity for showing the public my skills. Look, I’m just going to go in there and do my thing. It doesn’t matter what he (Camacho) talks. People. just come Saturday night to see, I’m going there to take care of business,” Dalton declared.
Last year, Shondell Alfred became Guyana’s seventh World Champion with her unanimous decision win of the American Gladiator Corrine De Groot but her win was rocked with controversy after De Groot claimed that her loss was just due to improper officiating and summoned the WIBA to sanction a rematch.
For months a see-saw game was played as it relates to a date for their rematch until it finally stopped and settled for the two to meet on June 5 on the Bris ‘O’ Promotions card.
During the ordeal, Alfred remained obstinate that she is the true champion and doesn’t have a problem proving her self again.
At the pre-fight press conference, De Groot was a no-show despite being on the premises of the Hotel while Alfred spoke little but strongly about her chances of winning a title she proclaims rightfully belongs to her.
President of the WIBA, Ryan Wissow, spoke vastly about the fight and reflected on the circumstances which led to the rematch today. Wissow said that he strongly believes that Alfred won the fight justly but warranted Corrine’s appeal for a rematch due to referee Eion Jardine’s mistake in the 10th round.
In the meantime, Gwendolyn ‘Stealth Bomber’ O’Neil has promised to make it an early night when she faces Veronica Blackman over 10 rounds for the Vacant WIBA Heavyweight title.
“I’m glad for this fight because I want back my world title so this one is mine. I’m glad that they have a pool here because when I black she out, they can throw her in to catch she self. So I wouldn’t take long,” O’Neil told the gathering.
Elton Dharry otherwise known as the real ‘Coolie Bully’ has assured his supporters that he will make light work of Orland ‘Pocket Rocket’ Rogers even though he had stopped the Berbice-based boxer on the last occasion they met.
Promoter Seon Bristol announced that the card today is just a stepping stone to what is to come in the future and that local boxing fans can come out and be entertained with quality boxing.