SUPER bantamweight Leon `Hurry Up’ Moore had his first fight on American soil last week and came out a winner.
The 32-year-old Moore, who has been defeated twice in 30 fights won a six-round decision over Filipe Almanza of Columbia on April 2, at the Aviator Sports Complex, Brooklyn, New York. All three judges scored it 59-54 in favour of the Guyanese.
At present, Moore is the only Guyanese boxer to be ranked in the top ten by any of the three major world bodies.
The Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) champion sits at number three in the latest rankings put out by the World Boxing Council and is in line to attack champion Toshiaki Nishioka of Japan.
Earlier in the year cruiserweight champion Wayne `Big Truck’ Braithwaite was the other Guyanese holding down a top ten spot. Braithwaite was rated nine by the International Boxing Federation but has since been pushed out of the top 15.