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Local fighters up their activities for various engagements
Gwendolyn O’Neil
The Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis Boxing Gym was transformed into a hive of activity yesterday afternoon as several of the country’s top professional pugilists stepped up activities for various engagements.
Gwendolyn O’Neil was in attendance, in preparation for her third encounter with Carlotta Ewell in St Maarten on April 4, while Leon, ‘The Lion’ Gilkes, Stephney ‘Stepping Razor’ George and Clyde Williams stepped up preparations for their engagements on February 28.
O’Neil was scheduled to be in action on March 1 but she said that the fight has been pushed back to April 4. She said that she is currently engaged in a cross country format road work on the outer circuit of the National Park. She is scheduled to commence sparring sessions from this Sunday.
O’Neil’s coach, Lennox Daniels said that his charge is currently undergoing strength exercises in preparation of the rigorous sparring sessions before her. He said that there is no paucity of sparring partners since several boxers including George, Gilkes and Veronica Blackman are already lined up to provide such services.
Gilkes is scheduled to oppose Lennox Alleyne while George’s opponent is still to be named. The two will fight on the under-card of the Howard Eastman/Clyde Williams catch-weight encounter slated for February 28, promoted by S&S Promotions.
Gilkes will be up against Alleyne in a middleweight affair. He said he has just returned to Guyana after undergoing a two-week training stint in St Kitts and Nevis. According to Gilkes, he has had a fruitful sojourn sparring with Lennox Marks at the Queen’s Block Boxing Gym, St Kitts.
He said that he had sparred for a total of 40 rounds and is good and ready to unleash his arsenal on Alleyne. “Lennox is a good fighter but he has never fought anyone like me,” The Lion declared. “I will take him on a rocky ride in the train,” Gilkes boasted.
Despite such outbursts Gilkes will do well to note that Alleyne has had a recent stint in the Bernard Hopkins camp and had impressed the former World Middleweight Champion. Alleyne is currently back in the USA and would return to Guyana later this month to keep his ring date with Gilkes.
Kaieteur Sport was reliably informed that the promoter of this month end match-up has left for the USA and is scheduled to meet with Alleyne to finalize the contractual arrangements.
Meanwhile, Clyde Williams, scheduled to face Eastman conducted training sessions under the watchful eyes of coach, Brian Barker, at the same facility.
Williams claim to fame is in the amateur department when he represented Guyana at the 1986 Goodwill Games and defeated a Venezuelan in the finals to help Guyana win the championships.
He has fought two professional bouts losing one to a Trinidadian and winning the other against Bajan, Sean Cox.
Quizzed on his strategy for the Eastman encounter, Williams said that he realizes that his opponent is world class material but he is not scared of him.
His coach, Brian Barker intimated that his charge is ready for the Eastman showdown. He said that Williams was in training for a fight in Canada which was eventually postponed. He also said that Eastman will be truly tested. “He had better be fit or we will destroy him,” Barker threatened.
Williams is also hard at work in the National Park very early in the morning because as he admitted, “I am aware of the volume of work necessary to defeat someone of Eastman’s caliber.”
The fighters continue training sessions at the Albouystown facility from 16:00hrs weekdays and 10:00hrs on Sundays.
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