Heavyweights to headline first ‘Guyana Fight Night’ of the year

– professional boxers sign fight contracts 

BY REUBEN STOBY

Heavyweight boxers Anthony Augustin and Kurt Bess, who would be squaring off in a return bout, will headline

the first Guyana Fight Night for the year, on January 28 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. 

The 11th staging of the ProAm card, organised by the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC), will have four professional four-rounders; while the amateur match-ups are yet to be determined by the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA). 

The main bout will be one of two professional bouts in the heavyweight division, with Pauline London matching gloves with Veronica Blackman. 

The first meeting between Augustin and Bess saw Augustin coming off the canvas in round one to beat Bess on points in their four-round clash last year. Bess, who will be fighting out of the Andrew ‘Six Heads’ Lewis Gym in Albouystown, told Guyana Times Sport that he was not in good condition for that fight, but will be prepared this time around. The 31-year-old, who has a professional record of two wins and four losses, promised to employ skill and tactics to defeat Augustin (two wins, one draw, two losses). 

“I know he (Augustin) will want to brace me to the ropes, but I will be using my skills to avoid that. I will not really be focusing on a knockout, but if it comes it comes.” Meanwhile, a confident Pauline London (three wins, six losses) is already looking past the 43-year-old Blackman, as she called out Debbie Tyson to fight her in a six-round contest. 

Blackman (three wins, five losses) looked ready to do battle, and was in a ‘physical’ mood when this newspaper asked the two fighters to pose for the camera. 

Blackman repeatedly pressed her fist on the chin of the 35- year-old London. 

The catchweight contest (not exceeding 147 lbs) between Mark Austin and Jermaine King was initially titled the main bout, but that was decided against after King refused to fight for six rounds. 

King would, nevertheless, have a five-pound advantage over Austin, who anticipates his fight weight to be 142 pounds. 

The first fight of the night will be between 24-year-old Edmund DeClou (two wins, two losses) and 31-year-old Winston Pompey (four wins, six losses), who will thrash things out in a super-middleweight encounter. 

All of the professional boxers signed their fight contracts yesterday in the boardroom of Abdool and Abdool Insurance Incorporated on Avenue of the Republic, except for Augustin, who was reportedly attending his mother’s funeral.

The 11th Guyana Fight Night is expected to be broadcast live on NCN.