THE National Sports Commission (NSC) in collaboration with corporate Guyana will today pay homage to Guyana’s boxing stalwarts at the launching of Guyana’s first boxing Hall of Fame at the Andrew `Six Head’ Lewis Boxing Gym, Callender Street and Independence Boulevard at 13:00hrs.According to a press release, boxers, managers, promoters and other officials of the sport, including president of the Guyana Olympic Association, K. Juman-Yassin and Georgetown’s Mayor Hamilton Green are expected to grace the function with their presence.
The launch will coincide with the Demerara Distillers Limited’s sponsored Under-16 Boxing Tournament that will see the Simon Pires slug it out for honours.
A number of Guyana’s past outstanding professional boxers and those from the current crop will be honoured. These include Guyana’s first-ever world champion the late Andrew Lewis, Wayne `Big Truck’ Braitwaite, Gairy St Clair, Vivian Harris and Guyana’s lone Olympic medallist Michael Parris, along with Guyana’s three female world champions Gwendolyn O’Neil, Shondell Alfred and Pamela London.
The genesis of the Hall of Fame was conceptualised by Guyana’s former Continental of America’s welterweight champion Michael Benjamin and businessman/boxing enthusiast Maurice Pile.
Among the corporate entities that have given the venture financial and other support are Abdool and Abdool Insurance, Hand-in-Hand Insurance, Ramchand Auto Spares, Dr Max Hanoman, Modern Optical Service. German’s Restaurant, Attorneys-at-Law Joe Harmon and Euclin Gomes, Claude Raphael Real Estate, Eddy Grant, Lawrence Atherly, Guyana Football Federation (GFF) president Wayne Forde, Ansa McAl and Philip Fernandes of John Fernandes Limited.