Boxing ambassador extraordinaire Gwendolyn O’Neil seeks to consummate her mission

Sep 20, 2015 Sports

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By Michael Benjamin

The dictionary defines ‘stealth’ as something secret or surreptitious and further goes on to define ‘bomber’ as an aircraft equipped to carry and drop bombs. It is these words that five times women’s world boxing champion, Gwendolyn O’Neil, has conjoined to form her boxing sobriquet. Indeed, the ‘Stealth Bomber’ has sent chills down the spines of her opponents even as she stealthily unleashes her bombs on their hapless bodies. The rewards were great and she has managed to bring fame and glory to the land of her birth after clinching, not one, two, three or four, but a record breaking five world championship belts.
Many have labeled her as ‘Guyana’s Boxing Ambassador’ and after even a surreptitious glance at her accomplishments, even the uninitiated will agree with this tab.
It all started on May 29, 2004 when O’Neil was billed to take on American pugilist, Cathy Rivers, for the Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) Light Heavyweight title that had been vacated by Jacqui Frazier-Lyde, daughter of another boxing great, Joe Frazier. That card was promoted by Carwyn Holland and was a landmark achievement in local promotions.
O’Neil pounded out a majority decision over the American and instantaneously became a national hero. The people rejoiced and in recognition of the feat, the Government and people of Guyana gifted O’Neil a plot of land and a $5m grant to facilitate the construction of her house. She was also the recipient of a duty free concession for a car.
Most people would have felt contented by such an accomplishment and even become lax in their careers but not Gwendolyn; she applied herself diligently to her tasks and compiled a fearsome reputation after defeating Trinidadians, Crystal Lessy and Kim ‘Bonecrusher’ Quashie. The former fight earned her the WWBC light/heavyweight title while she successfully defended against the latter fighter.
O’Neil also won a ten-round unanimous decision over her local counterpart, Veronica Blackman, for the vacant WIBA Heavyweight title and the GBU Heavyweight title. She followed this up on September 11, 2010 at Fort Myers Stadium in Fort Myers, Florida, with an eight round unanimous decision over American, Laura Ramsey, for the WIBA Heavyweight title.
There were many disappointments along the way none more debilitating than her loss to Laila Ali in South Africa but even before that the two were scheduled to meet in Abuja, Nigeria in a six-round light/heavyweight affair but Ali’s entourage encountered traveling difficulties and canceled at the last moment.
Notwithstanding, O’Neil’s redeeming moment of the South Africa trip was her meeting with the great freedom fighter, the late Nelson Mandela. Most fighters would be deflated by such turn of events and many would opt to retire but not Gwendolyn; she continued to ‘stealthily’ address her mission and such perseverance has eventually borne fruit and she has now added another world accolade, the UBF women’s heavyweight world title, to her bulging collection after defeating Greek fighter, Sonya Lamonakis, the #1 ranked heavyweight in the world.
Maybe, it is not just the winning of the title that makes the achievement so meritorious but the fact that Gwendolyn came off a three and a half years layoff from the sport to shake off ring rust and the adverse comments of her detractors to once again rise to the top of the heap.
Unlike her ‘stealthy’ approach when stalking her opponents and landing her bombs, O’Neil returned to Guyana amidst much fanfare and engaged Kaieteur Sport in discussions of her immediate and future plans in the fistic sport. Mr. Basil Boyce is the CEO of Golden Bow & Arrow Promotions, LLC in New York and also manages O’Neil’s technical and other boxing affairs. He is supported by several other individuals including Jamaican nationals, Jillion Richard and Aneil Arthur. This unit is quite ecstatic and believes that O’Neil, despite her age and length of time spent engaged in bruising battles, still has a few productive years in the fistic sport.
Mr. Boyce revealed that plans are already in train to have O’Neil pit her skills against another top ranked fighter as early as December. He said that his team is carefully scrutinizing its options and will narrow down to the best choice soon. “We are contemplating a bout with Tanzee Daniels who is the number one ranked fighter but we are still to finalize things,” confided Mr. Boyce. He also revealed that Boxrec, a reputable international firm that analyses fights and rates fighters, has ranked O’Neil as number one in the world. Though Boxrec is not the authority for the ruling world boxing body, its rankings are heavily weighted. “This is by no means a casual accomplishment and we intend to use it to the forward thrust of our world champion,” said Mr. Boyce when asked to give a view of the ranking.
The team is aspiring to enhance O’Neil’s life in a rounded way and even as plans are underway for her future and they are focusing on international stardom, Mr. Boyce feels that O’Neil’s interaction with her country folks is vital to her development owing to the strong fan base here coupled with O’Neil’s strong sense of nationalism. To that extent the group is working assiduously to have her come to Guyana for a future fight, maybe during the Independence celebrations next year. “We are toying with the idea and so far the possibility of that happening seems real,’ Boyce assured.
Another member of O’Neil’s management team, Aneil Arthur, believes that Gwendolyn has lifted the bar and the time is ripe to agitate for better purses for members of the distaff group. “We need to keep agitating for realistic improvement of women’s purses,” he said. His contention is that women are fighting hard and producing crowd pleasers and should be given concomitant treatment as their male counterparts. Mr. Arthur made mention of the multi millions that fighters like Mayweather takes home even as he scoffs at the pittance of the distaff group. He plans to continue sounding his concern over this sore issue.
But what of Gwendolyn who is now in her mid-forties; does she still have the verve, alacrity and the willpower to carry on even in the face of her advanced age? “I am feeling even better than when I first entered the ring,” she confided. As a matter of fact, O’Neil boasts that she is forced to spar among the men since the women are unable to keep up with her pace and most of them refuse to engage in sparring sessions. “The women shy away from me and I can tell you that many afternoons after I spar with the men, they are black and blue,” O’Neil confided to chuckles from her management team.
O’Neil has since switched camps from the Gleason’s Gym in Brooklyn and currently works out from the Green Studios Gym in Williamsburg, also in Brooklyn. She said that her morning sessions are conducted in Prospect Park in Brooklyn and here she concentrates on heavy conditioning exercises. O’Neil disclosed that she relaxes for a few hours before engaging in weight lifting activities before returning to the gym for the afternoon sessions. Indeed, her muscles appear well toned even as her physique compliments the hard hours of work in the gym and in the Prospect Park. She looks ready for combat and when asked, affirmed this to be so.
Gwendolyn says that wherever she may be, she remains a proud Guyanese and her country’s development is always foremost in her mind.
She lives in New York but keeps abreast of the local news and is well aware of the deviancy among the youths. As such, she believes that she could use her experiences to enhance their fortunes. “I believe that I can be a role model for young people to walk the narrow path and I intend to use my status to support my belief,” confided the multiple world champion even as she vows to press on until she achieves this goal.
Coming from someone that has walked the walk, Gwendolyn will obviously enhance the confidence of local administrators, perplexed by the volume of crime among the youths and battling for a solution to this scourge.

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