Giftland Mall unveils Next Generation Boxing

By Avenash Ramzan

The usual daily buzz at the freshly minted Giftland Mall will reach fever pitch on September 26 when the management of the sprawling department store in partnership with the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) stages the first-ever Next Generation Boxing- Giftland Showcase ProAm boxing card.

An evening of fistic fury is set to transform the Liliendaal facility into a virtual battle ground, as 16 of the country’s emerging boxing talents will compete in four professional and a similar number of amateur fights.

The format of this rebranded eight-fight event will take a similar format as the GBBC’s marquee monthly programme, the Guyana Friday Night Fights, which started in 2010, but has suffered a lull after 30 editions.

President of the GBBC, Peter Abdool, speaking at a media event on Tuesday to announce the partnership between the board and Giftland Mall, said the President and Founder of the shopping centre, Roy Beepat, and his team have now picked up “the torch” and have launched an event to feature the “next generation of fighters” in Guyana.

“Consequently, this entire card has been put together essentially on the tremendous prospects that are still in Guyana,” Abdool said.

“The presumption is that Mr Beepat, once we are successful, will actually be able to put this programme to us and allow us to box on a regular basis so that we get our amateur boxers exposed…and move them up to world titles.”

Abdool, who is also the President of the Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE), hailed the partnership as “a fantastic undertaking.”

Beepat said the move to align itself with boxing is just an extension of the company’s active involvement in the sporting community.

“It has always been our long-term plan to be more involved in sports, and the Giftland Mall allows us the opportunity to actually host these events and to further our participation [in sports],” Beepat intimated.

The card will be headlined by a 12-round title fight that will see Trinidad and Tobago-based Guyanese Iwan Azore putting his national welterweight belt on the line against reigning national lightweight champion Dexter Gonsalves.

Imran “Magic” Khan, a highly successful amateur boxer, will make the move up the professional ranks and will face David Thomas in a four-round lightweight contest, while Terrence Adams and Keeve Allicock will open the professional segment with a four-round featherweight showdown.

In bout number three, Anson Green and Quincy Gomes will trade punches in a six-round junior welterweight clash. The amateur segment of the card will be announced shortly, according to Technical Director of the Guyana Boxing Association, Terrence Poole.

Shortly after the formal proceedings on Tuesday, seven of the eight professional boxers, with the exception of Azore, who will arrive in Guyana three days before the fight, signed their contracts, and all expressed a high degree of confidence of being in the winning corner on fight night.