Latest update April 25th, 2024 12:59 AM
Sep 09, 2009 Sports
Boxers intensify preparations as Caribbean fury set to explode
By Michael Benjamin
Former International Boxing Federation (IBF), World Boxing Organization (WBO) and International Boxing Association (IBA) bantamweight champion Mauricio Pastrano who had recently opted out of the bantamweight clash with Leon ‘Hurry Up’ Moore later this month for another international engagement, has recanted his decision, indicating that he will be available to keep his ring date.
Holland recently dispatched a release to this media house with the news and he once again expressed confidence that Moore would be the new champion at the end of the fight slated for Saturday September 26.
While Holland has skirted the reason for the turn around, a source close to the Guyana Boxing Board of Control has intimated that Pastrano’s other engagement has suffered a postponement allowing him to accept the Moore fight. The source further said that Pastrano had initially pulled out of the bout with Moore because he had been offered a larger purse. All of this is now water under the bridge as the two bantamweights prepare for the imminent showdown.
A look at the records of both fighters shows some amount of balance. Moore sports statistics of 24 fights, 22 of them coming by the knockout route while he has 2 losses. Pastrano has fought 35 professional bouts losing 11 of them. 23 of his opponents failed to make it to the last bell.
The Moore/Pastrano bantamweight affair precedes the Shondell Alfred/ Corinne DeGroot bout where the former fighter attempts to emulate her countrywoman, Gwendolyn ‘Stealth Bomber’ O’Neil who defeated Kathy Rivers to take the Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) light/heavyweight title, a few years ago. Alfred will also fight for the Women’s World International Boxing Association (WIBA) title but in the bantamweight division. A juicy contest is in the making.
Meanwhile, anyone versed in the compilation of boxing cards would immediately admit that the main bout is usually the yardstick boxing buffs use to determine the quality of boxing cards. While in the past such means of measurement have been proven efficient, there were times when the under-card provided far more entertainment than the feature attraction.
In Guyana, boxing buffs have developed a habit of arriving late at boxing cards because they believe that the preliminaries are just pads to the main bout and most times hardly mesh up to the billing they receive during pre-fight commentary. It was with this in mind that Kaieteur Sport visited the gyms Monday afternoon last, to assess the quality of the under-card for the upcoming boxing extravaganza.
During the evaluation process, two fighters came under the microscope – Dexter Marques and Hewley Robinson. These two engage each other in a 4 rounds super bantamweight clash. Marques needs no introduction to the Guyanese public. It was he who after defeating Orland ‘Pocket Rocket’ Rogers ambitiously threw out a challenge to Leon ‘Hurry Up’ Moore. As the calls became incessant, Moore decided to place his ‘Johnny Hancock’ on the proverbial ‘dotted lines’ and the rest is now history.
Now, some four months after being served a heaping helping of humble pie, Dexter Marques reenters the ‘square jungle’ in search of redemption against Robinson.
A slim boxer of medium height, Robinson has compiled a decent record of seven fights, losing twice. His knockout ratio suggests that he is no puncher but his large percentage of victories indicates that he knows how to get the job done. Six of Robinson’s fights were fought in Barbados and he may feel that he has a psychological edge having accrued more international experience than Marques.
During training last Monday afternoon at the Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis Boxing Gym (ALBG), Robinson was placed through the grind, engaging in ten hectic rounds between ‘Deadly’ Denny Dalton and Shawn Pile. The latter fighter also comprises a part of the upcoming card, opposing Paul Lewis, in a six round featherweight affair.
Brian ‘Tommy Hearns’ Barker coaches Robinson. Ironically, he was once Marques’ trainer. When this reporter arrived at the ALBG Robinson and Dalton were slugging it out in the ring. “This is the fourth of ten rounds that he will have to complete today,” Barker explained. He said that even though Robinson bout with Marques is scheduled for four rounds, he (Barker) has decided to really push Marques to the limit. “Hewley has signed to fight 4 rounds but I decided to place him under a severe regimen where he will spar for ten rounds at least thrice during his training period,” Barker further said.
Coupled with that, Robinson is required to attend early morning sessions at the Tucville Ground where he is further drilled in hectic conditioning activities under the watchful eyes of Trotman. “This entails speed and endurance activities,” Trotman explained. “Boxers need to be fully fit in order to really perform and we are doing our bit to prepare Hewley for the demanding battle ahead,” Trotman said.
Meanwhile, over at the Forgotten Youth Foundation, Albouystown, Marques has taken a break from sparring sessions and engaged in several rounds of pad-work under Sebert Blake’s guidance. Fully recuperated after his loss to Moore, Marques is anxious to reinstate himself in the eyes of boxing pundits. His punches were executed with deadly precision most time pushing his coach backwards.
Wencel Thomas and Joseph Murray are the two other coaches that are working to bring Marques into respectable shape. “This afternoon we have worked out on the heavy bag to augment Dexter’s power punches. The pads are for timings and the speedball is to improve on his sight and general speed,’ Thomas explained. Murray then chipped in, “To date, Dexter has sparred over 14 rounds with Jermaine (King), and Leon (Moore). We plan to spar at least another 20 rounds before he wraps up training sessions,” Murray disclosed. “Dexter is ready for whatever Robinson has to offer,” the former Fecarbox featherweight champion further intimated.
Three of the boxers, Robinson and Moore and Shawn Pile, are working out at the Andrew Lewis boxing Gym while Marques trains at the Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF) from 16:00hrs every day.
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