PRESIDENT of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) Peter Abdool had hinted at the recently held press conference to herald the eight GBBC/Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) ProAm card, on the possibility of a bonus fight involving Trinidad and Tobago based Shawn Corbin.
It has been confirmed that Corbin who is the World Boxing Council (WBC) Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) light heavyweight champion will be matching gloves with local journeyman Leon ‘The Lion’ Gilkes in a four round exhibition bout.
The 35 year old Corbin who resides in Marabella, T&T, has a 14-2 record, with nine of his opponents being knocked out early in the matchup, is being managed by Barbados’ Sam Layne who according to Abdool, wanted to give his charge a match at home leading up to his world title clash which is in the making.
This should be a stern message to Gilkes (6-12-3), who gets wobbly legs once  he is tagged early by his opponent, as was evident in his two match ups with Theophilus ‘Blue’ King.
But while King lacked the killing instinct to finish off his opponent, certainly it is not so with Corbin who last fought in April of this year, where he knocked out Cleveland Fraser at the Central Indoor Regional Auditorium in Chaguanas T&T to claim the WBC/CABOFE title.
This matchup would be the third between the two and certainly, Gilkes who has suffered two previous defeats against Corbin by way of a technical knockout and unanimous decision respectively, should be looking to redeem himself, less he fails again.
While they have met two times before, it must be noted that this is the first time they will be meeting on local soil, with their two previous meetings taking place in the Twin Island Republic and Gilkes should feel at home, having fought at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall two out of the last three ProAm cards.
With Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman facing Kwesi ‘Lightening Hitman’ Jones in the main bout, preceded by the return matchup between Debbie Tyson and Pauline London along with the Simeion Hardy/Gavin Williams and Clive Atwell/Mark Austin matchups, the Corbin/Gilkes clash can certainly take away the headlines of the night’s card.
Admission is $1,000 for the night’s activities that will also have four exciting and pulsating amateur matches, as both the GABA and the GBBC in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports look to further reignite the spark of boxing in Guyana.