Latest update March 25th, 2025 7:08 AM
Latest News
- Surinamese invest US$516M into country’s first oil project
- ExxonMobil impact study for Hammerhead project silent on likely explosion from new pipeline
- ‘A shocking breach’: Trump officials leak military attacks to The Atlantic
- Pensioner goes missing during creek outing at Kwakwani
- Cuban national jailed for entering Guyana illegally
Allen, Gilkes oozing confidence ahead of title fight
Lennox Allen (left) staves off Jermaine King with a right jab during sparring sessions yesterday afternoon.
As fight night draws closer, Leon ‘The Lion’ Gilkes, operating out of the Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis Boxing Gym, increased his training regiment with 12 rounds of sparring against three opponents in preparation for his 12-round super/middleweight title fight against Lennox ‘Pretty Boy’ Allen this month end at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
Allen, apparently sensing Gilkes’ high level of seriousness, has also upped the ante and engaged in 10 rounds of fistic fury, against two sparring partners at his training base, The Forgotten Youth Foundation Boxing Gym, also in Albouystown.
Both boxers are exuding confidence, but while Gilkes reserved his talking for fight night (which he plans to do with his fists), Lennox Allen is bursting with confidence and has promised to first, humiliate his opponent then finish him off.
Yesterday afternoon, Gilkes boxed 4 rounds with Kwesi Jones, a similar amount with Denny Dalton and rounded off sparring sessions with another four rounds against Hewley Robinson. He did a further 4 rounds on the pads and then simmered down with 15 minutes of rigorous skipping.
Allen boxed 10 rounds with middleweight Jermaine Dow and welterweight Jermaine King. It seems as though he is focusing on improving on his power shots.
Leon Gilkes (left) and Kwesi Jones moments after completing several rounds of hectic sparring.
On several occasions his coach had to caution him about the force of his punches. “We know that Gilkes loves to brawl, but one may never know, he may be training to box so we are preparing Lennox to counteract any offence he may put up,” Sebert Blake, one of Allen’s coaches said.
He also said that Allen had experienced difficulties procuring competent sparring partners during the early stages of his preparations.
He further revealed that the situation has changed somewhat, over the past few days and Allen would now have to endure several hectic sparring sessions ‘to catch up on lost work.’
Blake shied away from a prediction, but remained confident that his charge would cart off the spoils. “Lennox is extremely fit and I cannot even imagine him going down to Gilkes,” Blake stated in a matter of fact manner.
When asked to respond to Allen’s pronouncements Gilkes simply stated, “Right now there is no need for me to talk, because Allen is doing enough talking for both of us. The public will hear from me on fight night.”
Meanwhile, Kwesi Jones, one of Gilkes sparring partners, will face Edmond DeClou over 4 rounds. Jones was initially scheduled to fight Wayne Briggs but the latter fighter experienced cold feet at the press conference and inexplicably pulled out of the bout. Jones has since promised a replication of his debut fight when he forced referee Eon Jardine to halt his fight against Nigel Boston inside the first frame. Sporting a chiseled physique, Jones seems set to make good of the boast.
In other fights on the card Debbie Tyson takes on Sharon Warde in a 4 rounds catch/weight scrap, while Pauline London and Shelly “The Boom’ Gibson square off in a 4 rounds heavyweight bout.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Desecration, Disrespectful, and Disgraceful
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- The solemnity of Babu Jaan, a site meant to commemorate the life and legacy of Dr. Cheddi... more
The Caribbean: Destined to Grin and Bear the Consequences of Its Self-Created Vulnerabilities?
By Sir Ronald Sanders For decades, many Caribbean nations have grappled with dependence on a small number of powerful countries... more
Weekend Cartoon
