Moore, Frank headline $10 Million ‘Caribbean Fury 2’ card

Nov 05, 2010 Sports

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Promoter laments poor sponsorship support

By Sean Devers
Promoter of the Caribbean Fury 2 Carwyn Holland yesterday unleashed a flurry of verbal blows at the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC), the large Companies in Guyana and the Government for not doing more to assist Promoters in the staging of fight cards in Guyana.
Speaking at a press conference at Pegasus, Holland who is licensed to promote Boxing cards in the USA, informed that it is easier to stage fights overseas than in Guyana due to the lack of financial support, the weak Guyana dollar and the at times questionable standards of the GBBC.
Holland said tomorrow’s Caribbean Fury 2, which will be televised live by ESPN, is his biggest moment in his Boxing career although he became the first Guyanese to bring a World title fight to these shores and acquired coverage from CMC for pervious cards he has held here.
The promoter explained that it cost $10 Million to bring in the fighters, feed and accommodate them, pay the Boxers and workers and to rent the venue among other things to stage Caribbean Fury 2 which is set for tomorrow from 20:00hrs at the Princess Hotel.
“I take my punches and continue to fight but it is very
hard staging fights in Guyana. I have lost on every card I have done here so far but it is because of my desire to do something for the fighters here that I continue. From now I will only stage Caribbean Fury here since Boxing is not getting the type of support it should in Guyana,” Holland told the gathering.
“Two years ago I quit Boxing in Guyana because I was so fed-up with what was happening and it was only because of Leon Moore, who was ranked 10th in the world at that time. He said that if I quit he would also quit that I continued. People like Shondell Alfred has also made me proud by winning the title against De Groot,” Holland added.
“We have overseas fighters and Guyana’s top Boxers like Moore and Rawle Frank and these guys on this card and yet the big companies have not supported with any substantial sponsorship. I have a lot of small friends who want me to succeed and they have chipped in to help with a little bit here and a little bit there. The small sponsorship by those people is keeping this going since we have not even reached three quarters of the $10 Million we need,” Holland said.
The Promoter who originally hails from Linden told the gathering, which included GBBC official Andrew Thorn, that a ‘review of how the GBBC deals with Boxers and Promoters has to be done’ if they are serious about taking the sport forward.
Holland said his next aim is to bring Show Time to cover Boxing in Guyana and stressed that events like tomorrow’s card can do so much for not only the Boxers, fans and Promoters but also to showcase Guyana to the world through the TV coverage which will promote Guyana as a tourist destination.
Holland said he has learned from mistakes in the past and tomorrow everything is in place, including excellent lighting in the ring, good visibility for the spectators and ‘cutters and drinks’ for those in the VIP section.
“There will be adequate security and time is very important since if the Boxers enter the ring late for the earlier fights it would cause problems for the main bouts, especially since timing is everything in television coverage,” Holland added.
The promoter also indicated that Journalists, Boxers or officials without their accreditation passes will not be allowed into the venue and said that the GBB should impose some penalty for Boxers who miss press conferences and interviews since as professional athletes that is all a part of their job.
Holland was high in praise for Promoters Keith Bazilio and Herman Harris who were both present yesterday and said that it was Bazilio who inspired him to become a promoter when the former Champion turned Promoter Andrew Murray died.
Pegasus’ CEO Robert Badal was commended by Holland for coming on board for an event which was being held at another Hotel and said that even at this late stage he expects some assistance from Government since President Bharrat Jagdeo has always been supportive of his efforts. He was expected to attend a meeting at the Office of the President yesterday afternoon.
Thorne admitted that it was difficult for local promoters and said that while things could be better, the GBBC intends to stage 2 World Title fights in Guyana by next March and said that if Moore wins tomorrow it will put him right up in the ratings.
“Carwyn must be commended since this is the first time that 6 overseas Boxers are appearing on the same card in Guyana. The GBBC has been bending backwards for the promoter to ensure this event happens. All is not perfect as yet but we have all confidence that Holland will have everything in place by tomorrow (today). I encourage everyone to come and offer their support,” Thorne said. Thorne said that the interest for Boxing locally has been revived with the staging over the last 9 months of the Pro-Am Friday night fights at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. The GBBC official said that the Sports Ministry, NCN and the GBBC have collaborated to stage the Friday night fights.
He said that fighters from T&T and Barbados appeared on the last Friday night card and informed that more Boxers from those Islands will be on future Friday night cards as the GBBC, which Thorne said is viewed as the best Boxing Board in the Caribbean, continue to assist in the development of Boxing.
Thorne said GBBC’s President Peter Abdool is in Mexico at the WBC convention lobbying for better rankings for Guyanese fighters and should be home shortly with good news for local Boxing.
Apart from the 2 ladies matches, Moore fights Venezuelan Breilor Teran in a 10-round contest which will headline the night’s event and Frank takes on Denny Dalton in another main bout.
Frank, one of the many Guyanese to have fought for a World Title fight since Boxer Michael Parris became the only Guyanese to win an Olympic medal in 1980, told Dalton that this was his big chance to up his ranking if he can beat him and said the clash between them should be action-packed with both fighters looking to ‘beat the crap’ out of each other.
“A few years ago I had just won a big fight and Dalton was at the press conference and challenged me. That has always been at the back of my mind and now he has his chance to fight me I wonder if he will waste it,” the USA based Frank said.

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