Raging boxing battles promised
--Guyana vs Trinidad showdown
By Steve Ninvalle
Stabroek News
May 3, 2002
It was bad blood at first sight and from all indications it will spill over to tomorrow evening when the two giant females involved take to the ring at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
Sure enough, Guyanese world rated light heavyweight boxer Gwendolyn `The Stealth Bomber' O'Neil dislikes Trinidadian Kim Quashie with a passion and was in no mood to pretend.
There were the trade mark stares, `cutting of eyes' and a good amount of trash talking, leaving the audience at yesterday's pre-fight press conference with the impression that the six-round catch weight fight would be an all out war of `Operation Desert Storm' proportions.
Making a ominous statement, O'Neil promised to abbreviate the contest and leave the Trinidadian in a heap.
"When I see her (Quashie) I remember the bags I beat in the gym. I'm moving up the ladder and don't intend to come down. I'm going to destroy her," O'Neil declared.
O'Neil's husband and manager Eon Peters was also confident that the bout wouldn't go the distance. "I don't think that it will go past round one on Saturday night," Peters said.
Earlier Quashie took a cheap shot at O'Neil when she called for a doctor to certify that she had no bites marks going into the fight. O'Neil was disqualified in her last fight when she bit Melissa Charles, another Trinidadian.
"I have no bites," the squatty Quashie announced. "The only thing she will bite is my fist."
A controversy regarding who won the first fight between the two hasn't done much to quell the rising tension between the two female gladiators.
O'Neil claimed that she had knocked out Quashie in the first round, a claim the Trinidadian camp categorically denies. Amidst cries of "lies and more lies," Quashie tried to clarify the happenings in Trinidad and Tobago a few years ago.
The Trinidadian even summoned local promoter Herman Harris to assist in the clarification process.
O'Neil and Quashie will meet in the main supporting bout tomorrow night, in the Guyana Boxing Board of Control promoted card.
The main bout will see Trinidad and Tobago's Learie Bruce facing Guyana's national lightweight champion Richard Howard. Both Bruce and Howard expressed confidence in winning the main event although Howard was uncertain whether there will be a knockout.
Ria Ramnarine, the first East Indian female to fight professionally in Guyana, was due in Guyana last night. Ramnaraine will match gloves with Shondell Thomas who is trained by George `Canchie' Oprecht.
The petite Trinidadian was given the judges nod when the two first met on Boxing Day but Thomas assured that this time the judges should be given the night off since Ramnarine would be asleep long before the eighth round when the flyweight contest is scheduled to end.
Tommorow's programme has three other fights carded. Hard hitting bantamweight Leon Moore tackles Linden Arthur in a six-rounder, classy lightweight Earl Deane squares off with Dexter Breedy over eight rounds and undefeated welterweight Rodney Tappin will clash with Charwayne Benjamin in a four-rounder.
Yesterday the GBBC took the opportunity to present Michael Parris, the only boxer representing Guyana to have won an Olympic medal, with a copy of the first issue of its quarterly magazine KO.
Also presented with a copy were trainer Oprecht, and Fitzroy Richards of Trinidad. The official launching takes place tomorrow evening during the card.
The weigh-in of the boxers will take place at Water Chris Hotel this evening beginning at 7 p.m.