Allen impresses Bernard Hopkins during American training stint

Sep 03, 2008 Sports

By Michael Benjamin

Lennox Allen

While many boxers would willingly give their right hand for a stint with legendary boxer Bernard ‘The Executioner’ Hopkins, the only right hand Lennox Allen gave were the straight rights, uppercuts and hooks exchanged during sparring sessions with the former World Boxing Council (WBC), World Boxing Association (WBA) and International Boxing Federation (IBF) middleweight champion.

Allen has recently returned home after a six month sojourn which included an impressive two week training stint with Hopkins in his Los Angeles California gym. He revealed that he has left an indelible mark on those lucky enough to have witnessed him at work.

Allen was accorded the opportunity through the strenuous efforts of local boxing promoter Carwyn Holland and his business associate, an individual named Mike. While he is indeed grateful for the opportunity to showcase his skill in the USA, Allen said that he was a mite disappointed with the shabby arrangements encountered during the first phase of his trip.

He said that he was told that upon his arrival in the USA, he would have been furnished with a gym to train as well as accommodation. He said that this was not the case and he sought support from Colin Morgan who arranged for him to train at the Trinity Gym in Manhattan. Morgan also paid the required gym fees.

Shortly afterwards, Allen traveled to Los Angeles to join Hopkins in his preparations for a world title clash against Joe Calzaghe. Allen admitted that he was well treated on this leg of the trip. He was accommodated in a five star hotel and trained at a state of the art gym set up by Hopkins’ team to facilitate his (Hopkins) preparations.

Allen said that he was awed by the training methods employed by Hopkins. He said that unlike Guyana, where all and sundry just walked into the gym, Hopkins’ camp screened every individual and the even journalists were only allowed to enter after surrendering their cameras. Only pens and notepads were allowed.

Allen said that the training sessions were a novel experience and while he learnt a lot from the former world champion, he also managed to impress him (Hopkins) with his style and ring generalship. According to Allen, “I and several other boxers took turns sparring with Hopkins. During training on the first day I was asked to spar at number three but after the session was over Hopkins insisted that he wanted me to open the sessions.”

Allen said that Hopkins credited him as the strongest and most competent of the sparring crew and he (Hopkins) was not keen on taking chances. Allen said that he was required to spar about 6 rounds daily with 18 ounce gloves. This was in contrast to the local situation where he dons 8 ounce gloves during sparring sessions. He learnt that the heavier apparel is used during training sessions to maximize on the lighter gloves during combat.

Commenting on the training regimen Allen said that the approaches adopted by the American trainers are almost similar to those of local trainers.

“The distinct difference is that the American fighters enjoy a vast variety of sparring partners while here in Guyana we are confined to a small pool of sparring partners whose styles become redundant and are eventually rendered ineffective,” he lamented. The end result is that local stalwarts are at a disadvantage whenever they are matched against boxers in developed countries like America.

Quizzed on his next move Allen revealed that while his initial stint in the USA was merely to spar with Hopkins, he has been able to make some worthwhile contacts while strengthening ties. He is optimistic that the just concluded sojourn will trigger other opportunities and he will soon be fighting in North America. Allen said that he has signed a three fight contract with Ronald ‘Winky’ Wright and if all goes well he should have his first fight sometime in October.

Shortly after his arrival in Guyana, Allen recommenced training sessions at the Forgotten Youth Foundation Gym, Albouystown, under the guidance of Seibert Blake. He said that he wishes to follow in the footsteps of Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis, Wayne ‘Big Truck’ Braithwaite and Vivian Harris who all won world titles for Guyana.
For now, he is nurturing hopes of breaking into the top ten ratings as a prerequisite of attaining his goal. “I am young and hungry, two ingredients that are bound to get me there,” he emphatically pronounced.