Fistic fury envisaged as ‘Sixheads’ Lewis and ’Mystery Lady’ Alfred return to duty

Sep 01, 2011 Sports

---

 

After a prolonged hiatus from the ring, Guyana’s first world champion, former World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight king, Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis and reigning Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) bantamweight champion , Shondell ‘Mystery Lady’ Alfred, are scheduled to reenter the ‘square jungle’ on a card promoted by Briso Promotions at the Princes Hotel International, Providence EBD on December 17.

Kaieteur Sport understands that the Lewis fight was formalized following successful negotiations between the head of Briso Promotions, Seon Bristol, and the management of legendary American boxer, Hector ‘Machito’ Camacho who in his last visit to Guyana, defeated ‘Dangerous’ Denny Dalton for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) middleweight title. Mr. Bristol is currently engaged in negotiations with several top notch fighters to secure a credible opponent for Alfred while the remainder of the card is still to be finalized.
The media was informed of these developments at a press conference hosted yesterday morning by Mr. Bristol at the Princes Hotel International, Providence EBD.  President of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) Peter Abdool was also in attendance as were the boxing principals, Lewis and Alfred.
The forum was also graced by the presence of Ms Nadine Hing, Sales Manager of the Princess Hotel International. She complimented the organizers while saying that her organization was delighted to once again play a major part in the upcoming event.
Mr. Bristol dubbed the card one of the biggest boxing shows in Guyana, set to eclipse the Dalton/Camacho affair, staged at the same venue last year. He said that the organizers have pushed the card to December in order to give the boxers enough preparation time.
Elaborating on the Alfred bout, Mr. Bristol explained that he is searching for a fighter within the top ten rankings. The promoter also said that he intends to procure a top quality fighter for Alfred and is currently engaging several top principals as well as the executives of several reputable boxing organizations to finalize arrangements.
Mr. Abdool lauded Bristol’s efforts while pledging full support to the success of the venture. He reminded of the high quality displayed by Camacho when he engaged Dalton in June last year even as he expressed confidence in Lewis’ ability to climb back to the top of the rankings. “Despite losing his (world) title, to my mind Andrew is still a great fighter, is world class material and could climb back to the top,” exhorted Mr. Abdool. He further commended Mr. Bristol’s efforts, “The GBBC notes the excellent level of boxing brought to these shores by Mr. Bristol and judging from Camacho’s last performance (against Dalton), I am confident that it will be a great card,” exhorted Mr. Abdool.
Of all of her fights, Alfred will be remembered for her awesome exhibition of power when she knocked out Corrine van ryke Degroot on her way to retaining her WIBA bantamweight crown on the undercard of the Dalton/Camacho fight. Since then she had had a torrid time procuring opponents and when she did fight Venezuelan, Olga Julio in ‘Caribbean Fury 2’ in November last year, Alfred pounded out a lopsided unanimous verdict win over her opponent.
Yesterday, at the press conference, Alfred debunked suggestions that she is ring rusty saying that she had been utilizing the time away from the ring to experiment with new techniques. She admitted to experiencing a psychological roller coaster following her title win and the paucity of credible opponents to defend her title. However, the petite world champion feels that those challenges are all behind her. “After a one year absence from the ring it feels good to be back and I promise my fans that they are going to see a great fight,” she promised.
Meanwhile, Lewis said that despite fluctuating fortunes in the ring following his world title win, precipitated by a lengthy period of inactivity, he is entering this bout full of confidence. The former world champion said that after the loss to Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman he had entertained thoughts of quitting but chose instead to step back and engage in other activities while he decided on his next move. It was during that period of introspection that he decided to reenter the fray. “I am a former world champion and I believe that I still have what it takes to get back to the top,” advocated Lewis. The former world champion said that he still nurtures the ambition of climbing back into the ratings and procuring another world title. “Sixhead is back!” he proclaimed.
Mr. Abdool summed up the situation, “Lewis is the most talented boxer coming out of Guyana while Alfred always gives a hundred percent in her fights. I don’t think boxing buffs could ask for more.” The two local fighters then formalized the deal by signing their contracts before leaving to open camp at their respective gyms. Lewis would sharpen his skills at the gym christened in his honour, at Independence Boulevard, Albouystown, while Alfred would be at the Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF) in James Street Albouystown. Both fighters commence training sessions from 16:00hrs on weekdays and from 10:00hrs on Sunday morning.

---

---