Allen, Alfred oozing confidence ahead of month end boxing engagements

Apr 09, 2009 Sports

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By Michael Benjamin
Lennox ‘Pretty Boy’ Allen is leaving nothing to chance in his preparations for his middleweight title clash with Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman, while Shaundel Alfred is singing the same tune as she prepares for her clash with Stephney ‘Razor’ George this month end.
Both fighters are engaged in hectic training sessions; Alfred at the Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF), in Albouystown and Allen at the Trinity Boxing Gym in Manhattan, USA.

Kaieteur News visited Alfred at the FYF shortly after engaging Allen and his coach, Colin Morgan, in a telephone conversation moments after they had completed a rigid training period at the New York Gym.
Morgan said that his charge had re-sited from the Kick Boxing Training Centre in Miami after he had completed sparring sessions with former middleweight champion, Glen Johnson. He said that Allen is currently sparring with a team of fighters from his (Morgan’s) stable and is really applying himself to his work.

He also said that Allen is rounding into terrific shape and had completed eight rounds of sparring Tuesday afternoon. He returned to the gym yesterday for another rigid ten rounds sparring session.
Quizzed on his approach to the fight Morgan said, “At the moment we are concentrating on placement of punches and the ability to adjust to different styles,” Morgan intimated. He said that when Allen started training for this fight he had lacked the patience necessary for a fighter of Eastman’s caliber. “I tutored him on the finer points of the sport while emphasizing the importance of patience.”
Morgan said that he is very satisfied with Allen’s application and was one hundred percent certain that he would be victorious over Eastman. He also said that Allen is currently tipping the scales at 170 pounds, two pounds above the contractual limit. “By the time we arrive in Guyana he will be smack on his weight limit,” Morgan assured.

Pressed for a prediction Morgan simply said, “I don’t like predicting fights but I can assure you that Lennox will beat Eastman.”
Morgan is also confident that Allen would go on to do well on the world scene. He said that Allen terminated the deal with Don Goosen since he was not satisfied with the terms of reference.
“Even though we do not have a contractual arrangement, at the moment I am in charge of Allen’s career,” he said. Morgan further explained that ‘Camp Allen’ is currently concentrating on the Eastman’s clash. “After this fight we will determine our direction but for now our main focus is on winning the impending battle.”
Kaieteur Sport will next visit the Eastman camp as we continue to evaluate each boxer’s application.

Meanwhile, when we visited the FYF we caught up with Shaundel Alfred engaged in sparring sessions. She has vowed to beat up George as she had done in their four previous encounters. She was engaged in several rounds of furious sparring sessions with bantamweight, Delon Charles. As Charles attacked, Alfred blocked and retaliated with left hooks and straight rights, the type of punches George is more likely to employ. “Charles is just the person we need to prepare for ‘The Razor,’ Alfred’s coach, Siebert Blake revealed. He said that Charles is tall and is proficient in left jabs, one of George’s main weapons. He also said that Alfred is treating this fight as though her very career is dependent on a win. “We are treating this fight with a high level of seriousness and will not be complacent.”

Indeed, Alfred appeared to be on top of her game as she matched every blow delivered by her sparring partner. Charles unleashed a vicious combination to Alfred’s head. She retaliated with a left hook and straight right of her own. Two left jabs to Alfred’s head saw her adroitly slipping to the left and countering with a left hook that connected to Charles’ rib cage.
“Shaundel is more technically sound than George and I don’t expect this fight to be a major problem,” said Blake. “Nevertheless, we are doing everything to get ourselves in top shape,” he assures.
Blake said that Alfred is currently running four miles every morning to heighten her fitness level. He said that he alternates her regimen, some mornings focusing on strength work while on other occasions, concentrating on the technical aspects of Alfred’s repertoire.
Blake also said that he engages his charge in 2 sessions of purely boxing specifics like shadow boxing and rigid calisthenics.

“We are going out there to win. This is a very important fight for us and we cannot afford to lose it,” Blake affirmed.
Meanwhile, local bantamweight champion, Dexter Marques was also hard at work at the FYF, in preparation for his fight against Paul Lewis.
He sparred six rounds with welterweight, Jermaine King but his coach Blake informed that this was only a temporary arrangement since Marques’ sparring partners, Delon and Orlando Allicock had taken the day off.
Dexter Jordon, another of Marques’ sparring partners, was also absent from the gym. Blake said that all three sparring partners would be back in the gym as of yesterday. He said that both fighters were being used to prepare Marques for Lewis’ bullish, attacking style. “Lewis fights in a southpaw stance and both Allicock’s are also southpaws,” Blake explained. “All of Marques’ sparring partners fight similarly to Lewis.
We are taking no chances and will utilize a lot of southpaw fighters to hone Marques skill in the right area,” Blake revealed.

Marques, for his part is also confident of registering a win. He will be defending the bantamweight title he won when he knocked out Orlan ‘Pocket Rocket’ Rogers on the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) ‘Night of Champions’ in October last year.
This is his first defence of that title and he has promised that at the end of the bout the belt would once again be strapped around his waist.

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