FORMER World Boxing Council (WBC) cruiserweight champion Wayne ‘Big truck’ Braithwaite says he is looking to teach Barbados’ Shawn ‘The Sniper’ Cox a boxing lesson when the two meet next week Saturday for the WBC/CABOFE heavyweight title at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH). It will be the main bout on the card which has been organised by the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) and will see an unprecedented five WBC/CABOFE titles at stake, but with Braithwaite not having fought in his hometown for over 14 years, his bout will be an interesting one.
In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport, the 36-year-old Braithwaite commended Cox for his victories over his fellow Guyanese, but warned that he is not in their category.
“First of all, I feel good about this fight, since it will give me a chance to showcase my talent to my home fans once again, having last done so in 1998 when I knocked out Wayne Harris. Secondly it brings two quality heavyweight fighters from the Caribbean together.
“He must be commended for his victories over the other Guyanese fighters he faced, including heavyweight champion Kurt Bess, but what he needs to take into consideration and seriously too is the fact that I am not in their category, I am a different kettle of fish,” said Braithwaite.
He added, “I have fought more quality fighters in my career which is far from over. His sniper lens will be knocked out of focus by the ‘Big Truck’ and when I am finished, he will regret stepping into the ring with gloves on, instead of pens and notepads since it will be a boxing lesson for him.”
Braithwaite became Guyana’s second world champion after Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis in 2002, when he scored a 10th round TKO over Vincenzo Cantatore and held on to same for a three-year period, before losing it to the feared World Boxing Association (WBA) cruiserweight champion Jean Marc Mormeck in a unification bout three years later, after defending his title successfully three times.
In 2005, Braithwaite lost via a fourth round TKO to Guillermo Jones, a defeat that took the wind out of the sails of his promising career, before he rebounded with a spectacular third round TKO win over the previously unbeaten Cuban Olympian Yoan Pablo Hernandez and claimed his WBA Fedelatin belt in March 2008.
Some may say that he is ring-rusty, since he has not entered the squared circle after recording a first-round TKO win over Adam Harris two years ago, but he is active in the famous Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn, New York, where he trains regularly.
“I plan to let my hands do the talking when I face Cox. He has bitten off more than he can chew and I urge all Guyanese to come out and show their support, while having the privilege to see me at work, since it has been a while that I fought at home.”
He thanked the WBC and GBBC for giving him this opportunity and looks forward to competing in the WBC Cup Championships, since he intends to prove to the world that Wayne ‘Big Truck’ Braithwaite is still around and has a lot of boxing years in him.
In other fights on the card which punches off at 20:00hrs, Dexter ‘The Kid’ Marques will take on Orland ‘Pocket Rocket’ Rogers for the flyweight title, Elton ‘Coolie Bully’ Dharry will defend his bantamweight title against Selwyn Lett, Revlon Lake and Miguel Antoine will meet for the super lightweight title and Edmond De Clou will face Kevin Placide for the middle weight crown.
Admission to the venue is $3 000 for ringside and $1 500 for stands. The GBBC wishes to let the boxing public know there will be NO live broadcast of the action on NCN Channel 11 and the monthly pass issued for their ProAm cards will not be accepted.