NEW York State super middleweight champion Lennox ‘Too Sharp’ Allen’s matchmaker Bob Duffy, the director of Boxing 360, yesterday showered praises on president of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) and the Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) Peter Abdool. Speaking at the GBBC’s press conference which was held to shower in tonight’s boxing card dubbed RAMPAGE, Duffy said Abdool’s work as president of the GBBC needs mentioning, since he is doing a tremendous job.
“I have great amount of respect for Mr Abdool. I have been on the phone with him for the past 72 hours since I arrived in Guyana and many more hours before my arrival in connection with this card, amongst other things.”
“Abdool is a great individual who has been working hard for boxing not only in Guyana, but the Caribbean and the card tomorrow night (tonight) is a great testimony to that and one can only hope that he continues in the same vein, as he takes boxing forward, while being president of the GBBC and CABOFE,” said Duffy.
Apart from Allen, two other Guyanese boxers Elton ‘Coolie Bully’ Dharry and Leon ‘Hurry Up’ Moore, also fall under the supervision of Duffy who said he was impressed by Moore’s work ethics.
Asked to comment on Allen’s chances in tonight’s CABOFE super middleweight clash against national light heavyweight champion Kwesi Jones, Duffy said he has not seen much of Jones, but from the little he saw he was impressed, but wished both men the best of luck, even though he would love for Allen to come out victorious.
“I am not Allen’s trainer, I am only his matchmaker. I try to move him, but I expect him to be a bit more aggressive. He is progressing at a level that we want him to be at, where he will be world competition. He is coming off a great victory over Nick Bronson and according to ability, he got that along with power and determination.
Add maturity to that, which is something everybody has to reach at some point, along with the most important thing, which is fighting in his home country, that in itself is a fillip for him. Even though he is living in America, he is Guyanese 100% and he wishes to showcase his talent to the Guyanese public.
Meanwhile, Abdool told the press conference that he and Duffy met Minister of Sport Dr Frank Anthony with the idea of having Moore fight for the World Boxing Council’s bantamweight title here in Guyana against the Japanese title holder sometime in October. Dr Anthony was receptive to the idea.
“One of Duffy’s reasons for being here is to make arrangements for Leon to challenge for the WBC title here in Guyana. That fight, when it does take place, will be the first time a Guyanese male boxer will be making a challenge for a major world title on home soil.
Dr. Anthony said once we can make the necessary arrangements, that fight can take place sometime in October, which will give us a chance to showcase Guyana more, since many international news agencies, including the Japanese, will be here,” said Abdool.
Certainly, with the ‘never say never’ attitude shown by Abdool and his team of executives on the GBBC, boxing enthusiasts can look forward to that fight in October.