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UNLIKE some of his opponents, friends and even sparring partners in the boxing fraternity, Barbados’ 38-year-old Shawn Terry Cox, also known as ‘The Sniper’, does not have a gym or even top class facilities available at his disposal, when he is preparing for a fight. The heavily built professional pugilist, who can easily enter into a bodybuilding contest and give a creditable performance, is forced to train in a storage room at the Barbados National Stadium located in Waterford, St Michael.
But that has not been a deterrent, as his record shows 17-2 despite such hiccups and includes a healthy 7-0 against Guyanese opponents including stunning first-round knockout victories over Wayne ‘Big Truck’ Brathwaite and Kurt ‘Sledgehammer’ Bess.
So when Samuel Layne, who acts as his mentor, manager, trainer and coach told him of the offer to fight out of Guyana, ‘The Sniper’ readily and willingly jumped at the opportunity to wear the Golden Arrowhead on his trunks, instead of the Broken Trident (the symbol on the Barbados national flag).
“It is an honour for me to represent Guyana at the highest level, joining such boxers like Wayne Brathwaite, Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis, Terrence Lewis and even Vivian Harris.
“Peter Abdool and his team of executives at the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC), the Management and staff at Sleep In Hotel and my numerous fans down there have always been good to me and Guyana is mainly responsible for my growth as a professional boxer,” said Cox.
Cox was referring to the GBBC’s monthly held ProAm Friday Night Fights (FNF), in which he was scheduled to face Bess in a return bout in this month’s edition that was postponed last week, due to the unavailability of an suitable venue.
He added, “The fans in Barbados would love to see me wear the Broken Trident on my boxing trunks, but after speaking with Sam (Layne), I decided to take the option to fight out of Guyana where I get lots of support. In fact, Guyana is like a home to me so I will not feel strange wearing their national flag on my boxing trunks.
“Added to that, there is not much support for professional boxing in Barbados, in comparison to Guyana. I looked at the fans who come out whenever there is the monthly card being held; yes the venue may not be packed to capacity, but the support is heart-warming, while in Barbados there is not much professional boxing being staged either.”
In an invited comment, Layne believes that Cox’s career would have been halted a long time now, had it not been for the GBBC’s ProAm FNF cards, which is an initiative of Abdool that was born three years ago and today bears fruit for many boxers across the Caribbean.
“People in Barbados who have been supportive of and even wish to be supportive of professional boxing are finding it difficult to do so for various reasons and when they do, it is not enough to promote an entire card, while it is different in Guyana.
“There is a programme where they host bouts monthly and that has given Shawn the opportunity to enhance his career, record and competitiveness and I am sure they would embrace him as a Guyanese, in similar manner to what they do when he goes there to fight,” posited Layne.
Asked to express his feelings at the postponement of this month’s FNF, a smiling Cox said, “I am really disappointed, as I was looking forward to facing Bess, who is a good fighter, one more time but these things happen.
“Bess is a very good fighter, don’t mind I had him knocked over in the first round and with him saying he knows my weaknesses and will exploit it this time around. I was eagerly looking forward to that fight, since it would have also served as the perfect bout leading up to my Commonwealth title shot in July.
“Guyana has a good crop of boxers and even though I have an unblemished record fighting in Guyana, I am willing to give them all another shot at revenge, since I know they will be well prepared to do well in their own backyard, especially Bess, who, according to reports, was training very hard for me this time around,” said Cox.
Among Cox’s hiccups for his preparation is the lack of sparring partners, but he smilingly said his aim is to do his best for Guyana, since the people here treat him as one of them, despite the end result of all his fights against Guyanese.
“When I fought and defeated Brathwaite, I know many people were left surprised, but I myself was surprised at the way they received me, when I returned to face Kurt and I am looking forward to working out with them and even competing against them in the future,” said Cox.
Cox is currently preparing to face Danie Venter, a 34-year-old South African in July for the Commonwealth cruiserweight title in South Africa and despite his hiccups, he amazes Layne with his commitment to training.
“Shawn goes to the little space we have in that storage room at the Stadium twice a day, Monday to Saturday, and works out without a sparring partner and even a training team. He just has me being there for him as mentor, coach, trainer and even manager, so it is always a great achievement when he does things in the ring.
“We are both happy and grateful to Abdool and the GBBC for giving us the opportunity to showcase Shawn’s talent in Guyana, while at the same time, we look forward to fighting out of Guyana and representing the Guyanese people proudly,” said Layne.
But that has not been a deterrent, as his record shows 17-2 despite such hiccups and includes a healthy 7-0 against Guyanese opponents including stunning first-round knockout victories over Wayne ‘Big Truck’ Brathwaite and Kurt ‘Sledgehammer’ Bess.
So when Samuel Layne, who acts as his mentor, manager, trainer and coach told him of the offer to fight out of Guyana, ‘The Sniper’ readily and willingly jumped at the opportunity to wear the Golden Arrowhead on his trunks, instead of the Broken Trident (the symbol on the Barbados national flag).
“It is an honour for me to represent Guyana at the highest level, joining such boxers like Wayne Brathwaite, Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis, Terrence Lewis and even Vivian Harris.
“Peter Abdool and his team of executives at the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC), the Management and staff at Sleep In Hotel and my numerous fans down there have always been good to me and Guyana is mainly responsible for my growth as a professional boxer,” said Cox.
Cox was referring to the GBBC’s monthly held ProAm Friday Night Fights (FNF), in which he was scheduled to face Bess in a return bout in this month’s edition that was postponed last week, due to the unavailability of an suitable venue.
He added, “The fans in Barbados would love to see me wear the Broken Trident on my boxing trunks, but after speaking with Sam (Layne), I decided to take the option to fight out of Guyana where I get lots of support. In fact, Guyana is like a home to me so I will not feel strange wearing their national flag on my boxing trunks.
“Added to that, there is not much support for professional boxing in Barbados, in comparison to Guyana. I looked at the fans who come out whenever there is the monthly card being held; yes the venue may not be packed to capacity, but the support is heart-warming, while in Barbados there is not much professional boxing being staged either.”
In an invited comment, Layne believes that Cox’s career would have been halted a long time now, had it not been for the GBBC’s ProAm FNF cards, which is an initiative of Abdool that was born three years ago and today bears fruit for many boxers across the Caribbean.
“People in Barbados who have been supportive of and even wish to be supportive of professional boxing are finding it difficult to do so for various reasons and when they do, it is not enough to promote an entire card, while it is different in Guyana.
“There is a programme where they host bouts monthly and that has given Shawn the opportunity to enhance his career, record and competitiveness and I am sure they would embrace him as a Guyanese, in similar manner to what they do when he goes there to fight,” posited Layne.
Asked to express his feelings at the postponement of this month’s FNF, a smiling Cox said, “I am really disappointed, as I was looking forward to facing Bess, who is a good fighter, one more time but these things happen.
“Bess is a very good fighter, don’t mind I had him knocked over in the first round and with him saying he knows my weaknesses and will exploit it this time around. I was eagerly looking forward to that fight, since it would have also served as the perfect bout leading up to my Commonwealth title shot in July.
“Guyana has a good crop of boxers and even though I have an unblemished record fighting in Guyana, I am willing to give them all another shot at revenge, since I know they will be well prepared to do well in their own backyard, especially Bess, who, according to reports, was training very hard for me this time around,” said Cox.
Among Cox’s hiccups for his preparation is the lack of sparring partners, but he smilingly said his aim is to do his best for Guyana, since the people here treat him as one of them, despite the end result of all his fights against Guyanese.
“When I fought and defeated Brathwaite, I know many people were left surprised, but I myself was surprised at the way they received me, when I returned to face Kurt and I am looking forward to working out with them and even competing against them in the future,” said Cox.
Cox is currently preparing to face Danie Venter, a 34-year-old South African in July for the Commonwealth cruiserweight title in South Africa and despite his hiccups, he amazes Layne with his commitment to training.
“Shawn goes to the little space we have in that storage room at the Stadium twice a day, Monday to Saturday, and works out without a sparring partner and even a training team. He just has me being there for him as mentor, coach, trainer and even manager, so it is always a great achievement when he does things in the ring.
“We are both happy and grateful to Abdool and the GBBC for giving us the opportunity to showcase Shawn’s talent in Guyana, while at the same time, we look forward to fighting out of Guyana and representing the Guyanese people proudly,” said Layne.
