Fireworks expected tonight at CASH
BOXING fans and enthusiasts can expect fireworks at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) tonight, when the eighth edition of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC), in collaboration with the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA)-organised ProAm card, punches off at 20:00 h.
Former European middleweight champion Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman will be facing Kwesi ‘Lightning Hitman’ Jones in the feature encounter on the card which also has the heated and much anticipated rematch between Debbie Tyson and Pauline London.
Mark Austin will be looking to improve his record on the Friday Night Fights (FNF), when he faces Clive Atwell, while Simeion Hardy and Gavin Williams will be making their professional debuts on the FNF, setting things off in the first bout.
The 23-year-old Hardy who describes his bout against Williams as the Genesis of his career, promised to knock his opponent out as early as the second round.
“This is the beginning of my professional career. I am calling it the Genesis as in the first book of the Bible which tells us ‘In the beginning …’ and I am looking to kick-start it with an impressive showing. I am young and fast and I will be looking to make a big impression,” stated the 23 year old Hardy.
Williams responded by calling his opponent who fought three times the amount of his fights at the amateur level, an empty bag who wishes to make a lot of noise and promised to show why he labeled him that, tonight.
With both fighters looking to make an impression in their first professional bout, boxing fans and enthusiasts alike can expect a scorcher in this junior middleweight encounter.
Austin has only recorded one knockout victory in his short but exciting professional career to date, and that was when he convincingly pummelled Errol Trotman into a third-round technical knockout, after pulverising his body with a series of unanswered combinations in the last FNF.
This time around, he will be facing a seasoned campaigner in Atwell who has promised to showcase his newly acquired ring moves, something Austin said he was not fazed by as he is looking to make an early stoppage of Atwell.
“I am looking forward to this fight with vigour. I always wanted to face him and now that I am being given that opportunity, I will be looking to close off things from as early as I am looking for a second round stoppage.
“My last two fights were used to sharpen the rough edges, as I knew we would be meeting sometime soon and all fans would have to do is look back at what I did to both Shawn Pile and Errol Trotman who had both promised to make a meal of me,” stated Austin.
He added; “Pile was looking to make me a stepping stone in preparation for the title bout he had and I defeated him, while Trotman said he could beat the winner of the matchup between Pile and me.
Unfortunately for him, he got me and I ensured his words were like wind as I inflicted some heavy punishment before his corner threw in the towel and I am looking to continue in that same vein against Atwell.”
Certainly, those who will be paying the new entrance fee of $1 000 to witness tonight’s action, must be waiting anxiously to see the Tyson/London rematch, especially with London who won their first encounter by an unanimous decision, promising to leave her opponent bloodied and bruised.
“I am thirsty and I will be in your face come what may, from one to four. I saw you swallowing blood the last time we met and this time will be no different. I intend to and will be beating you up badly. You are a walk in the park when it comes to Pauline London,” replied London.
Tyson responded by encouraging London to live in her face for the duration of the fight, as she intends to pummel her from one to four, in order to avenge the loss she suffered in the first fight, which she said should not have been by an unanimous decision.
According to president of the GBBC Peter Abdool, boxing enthusiasts on the European circuit have been enquiring about Eastman, hence the GBBC’s decision to involve the former world-rated fighter on the eighth edition of the card.
But despite his record on the international scene where he has matched gloves with fighters in the calibre of Bernard Hopkins, Kevin Placide and William Joppy just to name a few, Jones said he is not afraid of Eastman and went one step further by asking his opponent to recognise that it is his time now.
“At the moment his achievements in the ring don’t mean anything to me. When he steps into the ring Friday, he will have to start all over again and it will definitely be a different battle, in comparison to the ones he’s had with Bernard Hopkins, Denny Dalton and Andrew Lewis.
“As I said before, I am the new breed. I am not Dalton or Lewis and even though he is experienced, he needs to recognise that fact. I destroyed De Clou not because I wanted to, but because I needed to make a statement,” said Jones.
As a bonus to tonight’s card World Boxing Council (WBC)/Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) light heavyweight champion, Trinidad and Tobago-based Shawn Corbin, will be matching gloves with local journeyman Leon ‘The Lion’ Gilkes, a man he has defeated on two previous occasions.
On the amateur side of things for the night, three national champions who competed in the just concluded GABA Michael Parris National championships will be on show.
Republican Gym’s Daneshwar Narine will face Dexter Ray in a junior flyweight contest, while Laured Stuart of Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF), will match gloves with Timehri’s Ron Smith.
Eon Bancroft is the first national triple amateur champion, having fought and won the middleweight division in the GABA’s Andrew Murray Novices, Intermediate and Michael Parris National championships respectively and he will be facing Alfred Benjamin in that same division.
The final bout on the amateur card will pit newly crowned light heavyweight champion Markenber Pierre of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) gym against heavyweight champion Trelon Munroe of Republican Gym.
The GBBC/GABA ProAm fights is being sponsored by Ansa McAl, Courts (Guyana) Inc., Digicel, Ministry of Agriculture, Giftland OfficeMax, Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport and National Communications Network (NCN Channel 11) who will be carrying a live broadcast of the night’s proceedings from the first bout at 20:00 h.