THIRTY-SEVEN-year-old Sebert Blake, the coach of Dexter Marques, is warning his charge’s opponent Elton ‘Coolie Bully’ Dharry to come prepared for a battle when they clash for the World Boxing Council (WBC)/CABOFE bantamweight title on the Guyana Boxing Board of Control’s (GBBC) card which is dubbed ‘RAMPAGE’ and is set for the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on May 28.
Chronicle Sport caught up with both Blake and Marques at the Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF) gym yesterday afternoon and while Marques was going through his drills on the heavy bag, Blake found the time to express his thoughts on his chances.
“I believe he has a more than 100% chance of coming out victorious over Elton Dharry, because of the experience he has in the sport of boxing along with the quality of fighters he has faced prior to his upcoming encounter, which would give him the edge over Dharry.
To my mind and I stand corrected, I don’t think Dharry as ever gone a full 12 rounds before and I don’t know if that has to do with his punching or the opponents he has faced so far, but Dexter has gone such distance before and I give him the edge in terms of experience,” said Blake.
Blake, who also coaches Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) champions Shondell Alfred, Lennox ‘Pretty Boy’ Allen, Simeon ‘Candyman’ Hardy and Joel McRae just to name a few,  is not predicting how Marques would win the fight but he is confident the 26-year-old pugilist will be victorious.
“Dexter has fought some tough opponents, such as Leon ‘Hurry Up’ Moore who is the only pugilist to defeat him, along with some of the same opponents Dharry fought before. But the way Dexter handled those opponents in comparison to Dharry, along with his technique, places my fighter ahead of his opponent,” said Blake.
He continued, “Another factor that weighs heavily in Dexter’s favour is the number of rounds he has fought in comparison to Dharry, with Dexter doing a combined total of 53 rounds in his nine fights so far with eight of them being victorious and as I said his lone loss came against Moore.
“What we are aware of is the fact that Dexter is not a heavy puncher, but his speed and ring movement can serve him well against Dharry. His preparation is being done in accordance to Dharry’s style of fighting, with some stronger fighters being used as his sparring partner and Dexter has shown fairly well that he is in good shape at the moment, for which I am impressed.”
A pumped-up Marques took the time out from his heavy bag schedule to state: “He needs to be prepared for a battle, as I need that title. I am working hard towards winning same and have no intentions of suffering a defeat on May 28.”
Other fights on the card will see Allen who is the New York State champion opposing national light heavyweight champion Kwesi Jones for the WBC/CABOFE super middleweight title.
Kurt Bess recorded a stunning fourth-round knockout over Barbados-based Cleveland Fraser last month to take the national cruiserweight title but will step up in weight to battle national heavyweight champion Mitchell Rogers for his title.
What is interesting about this matchup is that both fighters fought each other twice and shared the results, which means that next Saturday’s encounter can be described as a decider, with GBBC president Peter Abdool calling it a ‘Titanic’ clash.
Mandessa Moses, whose name has become a household one when it comes to the GBBC Friday Night Fights (FNF), was scheduled to oppose Trinidad and Tobago’s Wendy Allen for the CABOFE super bantamweight title, but the latter is overweight.
Stephanie George was used as a replacement fighter, but she backed out at the last moment, which means boxing fans would not get a chance to see Moses in action for her first title fight – one that could have landed her a world title fight.  According to Abdool, once she became victorious, it would have been difficult to displace her.
However, the GBBC is keen on providing an entertaining and enthralling card for their supporters whose numbers are growing as the FNF goes by on a monthly basis. Ray Sandiford and Cecil Smith will clash in a four-round 135-pound battle.
Winston Pompey and Edmond De Clou will meet in a six-round eliminator, with the winner being guaranteed a shot at national middleweight champion Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman’s belt at a date to be announced later.
Certainly, with the aim of taking their monthly FNF up to another level in the future, RAMPAGE at the CASH next Saturday night will say whether there have been improvements rapidly or slowly by the GBBC.