NATIONAL welterweight champions Iwan Azore is cautioning his opponent for tonight’s World Boxing Council (WBC) Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) title bout, Simeon ‘Candyman’ Hardy, not to lapse, less he gets caught. The two will meet in the main bout of the 20th edition Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) in collaboration with the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport-organised Pro/Am/Friday Night Fights at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
“I am Iwan Azore and while I am short, my story is not long. With regard to tomorrow night (tonight), I will not be making any predictions. If a knockout comes my way, I will definitely take it and wish to let Simeon know that if he lapses, he would get caught and would not even know what hit him until he has recovered,” stated Azore whose record reads 14-4-3.
The Trinidad and Tobago-based Guyanese said he has it in mind to outbox, outsmart and beat the hell out of Hardy, since he has no fear for any opponent, irrespective of their status, since he always aims to win, with the sky being the limit for him.
Not one to be outdone, Hardy (6-0 with 5 KOs), said he is looking to check Azore’s chin with his now famous ‘chin-checker’ punch that is thrown from both hands. He is looking to put in 100% and more, in order to come out victorious.
“I will be checking his chin. I am fully prepared for what he has to offer. I know some people would be saying that I have not gone past a certain amount of rounds, but that is not a problem to me.
Whenever I train for a fight, I train for the amount of rounds I am scheduled to fight and even more and certainly, with such a prestigious offer at stake to the winner (in regard to the WBC international tournament), I am looking to not only claim the title, but bring glory to Guyana,” said Hardy.
Azore refused to play possum and let the words of his opponent for tonight’s feature bout rest easily, by saying “Not even Simeon or his trainer can stop me. I have studied him, (I) know his strengths and weaknesses and I plan to prey on his strengths to get him to resort to his weaknesses before I take the fight and title from him, as I am prepared for anything he is bringing.”
Prior to the back and forth banter between the two headliners for tonight’s card, president of the GBBC Peter Abdool, who is also the head of CABOFE, outlined the WBC’s plans for their 50th Anniversary which is being celebrated this year.
“The WBC will be celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and they announced at their Las Vegas Convention held last year, an agreement with a major network who intends to challenge the boxing scene including HBO and Showtime.
“This brings about the hosting of the mega event that gets under way on May 1, starting with all the standing CABOFE champions in the same selected weight divisions, being in action with the winner being guaranteed a purse valued at US$250 000.”
Abdool said the champions will be in action during a 40-week period, where they will be called upon to fight at least four times. He noted that pugilists from Guyana and the Caribbean will have the opportunity to accelerate their respective careers in a record time, while urging local boxers to take advantage of same.
“The WBC has to name its team by February, with the first division being the fight between Azore and Hardy, wherein the winner will not only be declared the WBC/CABOFE champion, but will enter the upcoming tournament as such.
Our very own middleweight champion Edmond De Clou, who will be in action against James Walcott tomorrow night (tonight), will be going up against Trinidad and Tobago’s Kevin Placide for the WBC/CABOFE middleweight title at the end of February,” stated Abdool.
According to the GBBC head, Placide was scheduled to face reigning light heavyweight champion Kwesi ‘Lightning Struck Assassin’ Jones for the said WBC/CABOFE title, but Jones had a problem making the weight and opted out of the fight, hence De Clou replaced him.
Orlon ‘Pocket Rocket’ Rogers and Dexter Marques are two pugilists who are expected to do battle for the WBC/CABOFE 112-lb title, while USA based Elton ‘Coolie Bully’ Dharry will match gloves with a foreign opponent for the bantamweight version of the title.
With regard to tonight’s action, Mark Austin, a late replacement for Cecil Smith, will take on Jermaine King for the third time and having defeated his opponent twice before, promises to do so again in their welterweight contest tonight, even though King has other ideas and plans in store.
Anthony Augustine will also be looking to reverse his loss suffered at the hands of former heavyweight champions Mitchell Rogers, when he faces him in a four-round heavyweight contest tonight, while de Clou and Walcott do battle in a catchweight contest that precedes the Azore/Hardy clash.
With there being no live broadcast of tonight’s action, Abdool is calling on the boxing community to come out and support tonight’s card, with the admission fee being $1 000 for adults and $500 for children. NCN Channel 11 will do a recording and show same next Friday.
Bell-time is 20:00hrs and prior to the four professional bouts, four amateur bouts, organised by the GABA and showcasing Ronald Wilson Memorial silver medallist Richard Williamson, will take place.
In the first bout, Joel Williamson and Travis Hubbard will do battle, followed by the Matthew Allensworth versus Dewani Lampkin encounter.
Randolph Singh and Quincy Gomes will entertain the crowd on hand before Richard Williamson shows how he won his silver medal last month, when he faces Dellon Charles, following which there will be a half-hour entertainment break before the professional fighters take centre stage.