From Bina Mahabir in New York
Guyana Chronicle
April 25, 2001

NEW YORK: Guyana's WBA Welterweight Champion, Andrew `Sixhead' Lewis, is ready to tackle his American opponent, Larry Marks, come Saturday, at the 2000 seat-capacity Hammerstein Ball Room, opposite Madison Square Gardens in New York.

"I am ready for the fight", said Lewis during a telephone call to his hotel room in New Jersey, adding, "I am training very hard" for the twelve rounds world title match.

It is his first defence since he won the crown in an electrifying performance, knocking out American boxer James Page in one minute 13 seconds into the seventh round, to claim the WBA Welterweight Championship at the MGM Grand Center in Las Vegas on February 17.

His name will go down in the annals of Guyana's history as the first ever Guyanese boxer to win a world title crown for his country, after the many unsuccessful attempts by his counterparts. That Saturday night at the MGM Grand, Guyana's stature in the world boxing was sealed on the world map and there is where Lewis wants to keep it.

As the Guyanese boxer who hails from Albouystown, Georgetown, reiterated in a previous interview, "Guyana is now on the world map", adding, "I am training very hard" for his defence fight.

`Sixhead' is heavily involved in his physical training at the Poconos Mountain in Pennsylvania, under the watchful eyes of trainer Nelson Fernandez and he has two sparing partners, Tony Marshall and Ron Rogers, according to his personal adviser and PR person, Seon Bristol.

The Guyanese boxer's days fetch two training sessions; in the mornings he jogs for about five to six miles up in the Poconos Mountain "amidst the snow" and his evenings are spent at the gym, where he spars with his sparring buddies for about one and a half hours; attacks the sparring bags for about six rounds and does his stretches for flexibility.

Despite the fact that this power punching, southpaw boxer's days are well loaded with hard physical action, he still said, "I feel good", in a very relaxed voice at his hotel room.

As his days for the defence fight are getting closer, his hours of training are also lessening and this is "not to tire him out", revealed Bristol.

The Lewis-Marks fight, which is picking up momentum in the migrant Guyanese community as the date of the fight is fast approaching, promises to draw a large number of Guyanese from the Richmond Hill, Queens area, the heart of `Little Guyana'.

Guyanese here are anxiously waiting to go and see their Guyanese boxer in action, at the Hammerstein Ball Room and plans are in place to give as many of them as possible a Guyana Flag at the door, so that they could wave it whenever necessary. This will lend insurmountable support to Lewis and give him added strength and courage to defend his title, said his PR person.

And as Bristol rightly pointed out, "the flags will also change the outside image of Guyana" since many Americans are still not aware of this South American country and have very little knowledge of its grandeur or beauty.

According to the PR person, the flags will increase Guyana's awareness and consciousness in the U.S. and the people here will get a chance to learn more about the country - Guyana.

The personal adviser to the boxer related that "everybody is supporting" the fight, and "the media is in shock that the fight is actually taking place in New York", adding that flyers and posters of `SixHead' were pasted at strategic spots in the commercial area of the community.

He continued to say that in the beginning when they (Lewis's team) approached a few Guyanese businessmen in the community, in their drive to print out the flyers and posters of the boxer, "they readily agreed to help out", and "were willing to invest in the flyers".

Posters and flyers of the Guyanese boxer were "hucked up and distributed" in Brooklyn, where Lewis is residing in Canarsie, Brooklyn and the famous Liberty Avenue in Queens, which housed many Guyanese businesses and is a beehive of commercial activities throughout the day.

Emphasising that the Guyanese people's support has been "tremendous" so far, Bristol said that, "tickets are now picking up" the pace as the people are buying more and more tickets. Ticket prices range from a high of $150 to a low of $25.00 per person.

Spotlight Television, a TV station that broadcasts tapings of the latest news on Guyana in New York, ran a 15 minutes on `Sixhead' over the weekend. With video cassettes of Lewis while he was in training at the gym and when he knocked out Page in Las Vegas as footage, anchor Aftab Karimullah did a fine piece, noting the humble beginnings of the boxer and his rise to the pedestal in the boxing world.

Indeed humility is the hallmark of greatness and Guyana's `Sixhead' is endowed with humility galore. Karimullah also did two promotions on the boxer; and this is expected to have a good impact on the Guyanese community here. It provides a chance for them to become more acquainted with their boxer and this will prompt them to support him..

The HBO network, with which Lewis signed a contract for his upcoming fight, opted to stage this fight in the New York Tri-State area, which has the largest concentration of Guyanese in the United States. Their choice of venue was chosen based on the number of Guyanese who reside in this area.

The organisers' aim is to "test the water" to see how the Guyanese community here will respond to the Lewis-Marks defence title bout and to try to attract as large a number of Guyanese as possible to give the boxer support and encouragement while he is in action in the ring.

Sixhead's mother, Yvonne Eversley, had to be satisfied with watching her boxer son of international fame trash his American opponent Page at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in the comforts of Lewis's hometown, joined by President Bharrat Jagdeo and a large number of the boxer's eager fans.

Despite all the tangible evidence that were handed over to the US Embassy in Georgetown, she was denied a U.S. visitor visa, which prevented her from travelling to Las Vegas to see her son in action last February.

However, Eversley will be here to see `Sixhead' defend his title, according to the PR man.

Bristol is calling on the Guyana government to issue Guyana's lone WBA Welterweight Champion a diplomatic passport, which will clear his way to travel hassle-free to Guyana and back to the US.

"I am hoping that the Guyana government will give him (Lewis) a diplomatic passport, so that he will be free to travel without any problems whatsoever", said the boxer's personal adviser, adding that Lewis is now like an ambassador of the country.

He would not disclose the purse of the Lewis-Marks defence title fight, though.

`Sixhead' has an impressive unbeaten record of 21-0 with 20 knockouts while his American opponent has record of 21-3 with 12 knockouts.