Wayne ‘Big Truck’ Braithwaite and ‘Vicious’ Vivian Harris were honoured by their countrymen and women at the cozy Savannah Restaurant, located in Jamaica, Queens, in New York.

‘Big Truck’ Braithwaite captured the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) Cruiserweight title on October 11 from his Italian opponent, Vincenzo Cantatore in Como, Switzerland.

He became Guyana's second world title-holder when he knocked out his opponent in the 10th round of the WBC Cruiserweight title fight. The referee had to intervene and stop the fight to save Cantatore's skin.

Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis became the country's first world boxing champion when he knocked out his opponent to win the coveted World Boxing Association (WBA) Welterweight crown in 2000. However, Lewis lost his WBA crown in a defence match about a year later.

Guyana's ranking in the world-boxing arena was skyrocketed to the very top of the ladder with Braithwaite's win.

Less than a week later, ‘Vicious’ Harris knocked out his Cuban opponent Diosbelys Hurtado in round two of his title bout in Texas, USA. He is now the new WBA and IBA junior welterweight champion.

Guyana is going through some very trying times right now. This scenario creates a sense of helplessness among overseas-based Guyanese.

And at such a crucial juncture in the country's young history, two of her sons lifted her sunken spirit and put her on the pedestal again. They brought home world title belts!

Here in New York, the Guyanese community rejoices and hails these victories as a sign of fervent hope for their native land. It is a time of national pride for all Guyanese.

Hence, they decided to honour the two boxers who brought about this good turn of fortune and offered them a glimmer of hope.

The Guyana Consulate in New York, the Arya Spiritual Centre and the Guyana Tri-State Alliance Organisation sponsored the presentation event.

Organisers of the evening function were Pandit Ramlall and Patricia Jordon-Langford, among others. Pandit Ramlall and Ms Jordon-Langford are well known community activists in the New York Guyanese community.

The event, which was billed to start at 19:00 hrs that cold Fall Wednesday evening, was delayed for over an hour because the two guests of honour were held up.

Eventually, the Braithwaite's entourage arrived at the neatly decorated Savannah Restaurant. With him were his mother Claire Small, top Guyanese trainer Colin Morgan, Aleem Ally of Spotlight TV and Aftab Karimullah, who represented the boxer's PR man, Seon Bristol.

‘Vicious’ Harris was tied up with a prior engagement; hence, he could not have come to the event. However, his father Herman Harris graced the ceremony and apologised for his son's absence.

Consul General in New York, Brentnold Evans, and Billy Braithwaite, manager of the North American Airlines in New York, were among the special invitees.

Pandit Ramlall, who chaired the proceedings, opened it with a minute of silence then he called upon the gathering to say a silent prayer.

This event was hastily planned to give the two Guyanese boxing champions a "proper send-off" to their homeland the following Thursday evening.

The presentation ceremony, which was sprinkled with short, lively speeches by various individuals in the gathering and the head table, sparked quite an interest in boxing as a sport.

Tracing Guyana's rich history in the boxing ring, Pandit Ramlall regaled those present with Guyana's boxer, Moti ‘Kid’ Singh, who brought home the country's first gold medal in the sport.

Boxers whose names came up for praise included Cliff Anderson, Kid Tanner.

The senior Harris called on the Guyanese community to collectively set up a modern-day gym in Queens, New York, for the country's young and upcoming boxers.

The highlight of the evening was the presentation of the plaques to the boxing champions. The name of the boxers, along with the Guyana Consulate in New York, the Arya Spiritual Centre and the Guyana Tri-State Organisation, are engraved on the plaques.

Jordon-Langford presented a plaque to ‘Big Truck’ Braithwaite to the resounding applause from the gathering.

Harris Sr. received his son's plaque from the wife of the proprietor of the Savannah Restaurant.

North American Airlines presented the two world boxing champions with six return airline tickets each for them and their respective team to Guyana and back to New York.