The Guyanese world champ will test his prowess and all-round boxing skills, come Friday, when he defends his WBC crown for the first time, after he knocked out his Italian opponent, Vincenzo Cantatore to win the coveted belt last October at the Campione d’Italia casino in Como, Italy.

Challenger, 31-year-old American boxer, Ravea Springs has an outstanding track record of 25 wins and two losses out of a total of 27 fights, with 19 KOs included in that handsome package.

Each boxing match brings its own source of motivation and inspiration for Braithwaite, who is not leaving anything to chance; he implicitly believes in training very hard, as much as he believes in winning all his boxing fights, more so, since this time around he is defending his crown.

He is arduously training under Guyana’s first world title trainer, Colin Morgan, both of whom are working with a meticulously planned training programme to polish the Guyanese boxer’s strengths and work on his weaknesses. The essence of the training programme is to prepare the world champ to physically, mentally and psychologically handle all the challenges, stress, pressure and sometimes frustration, which are associated with the boxing ring.

`Big Truck’ is not giving up his title belt without a good fight, as a matter of fact, he has no desire whatsoever, to part with his hard-won crown at all.

“I don’t intend to give up my belt early, I have worked very hard for it, too hard,” he assured, during a telephone interview with the Chronicle from his current camp base in Miami.

“I am feeling very confident about this fight,” he said easily and though he did not promise any miraculous knockouts, he stressed that his sole intention is to come out the victor from the ringside.

“I just want to go in and win this fight, I don’t promise any knockouts, I just want to defend my title belt,” he stated.

Trainer Morgan shared Big Truck’s confidence and good feeling about the fight. He noted that the Guyanese boxer is doing well.

“He is sharpening his skills,” said Morgan, adding that the boxing champ is in good spirits and is training very hard, to win this fight.

“I am not going to let my country or my Guyanese fans down. To the people from Plaisance and the neighbouring villages, your champion will not let you down,” was the strong message the Guyanese pugilist wants to convey to his country people. His people would not be there to wave for him and give him moral support, but their silent faith and confidence in him is pivotal to his victory.

The showdown of the 12-round defence title bout is scheduled to take place at the elegant Miccosukee Resort and Gaming Center, a sprawling 67 000 square feet Native American casino, which is 15 minutes west of Miami and is located along the southeastern edge of the breathtaking Florida Everglades. The Miccosukee Resort and Gaming Center is owned and operated by the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.

The Braithwaite-Springs defence title match, which starts around 10:15 p.m., would be the main and last fight on the boxing card from among the three other matches that are billed for the same night at the Miccosukee Resort. The fight would be broadcast live on the US-based ESPN television station.

The 27-year-old Guyanese boxer declined to disclose the purse-string for his defence fight, however, when asked if it is around US$80 000, with laughter in his voice, he answered in the negative. More than that was all he was willing to let up.

Braithwaite, who is known for his southpaw boxing style and all-round performances in matches prior to this one, said that he knows very little about his opponent, who grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.

“All I know of him is that he is a left-handed boxer. And two of my sparring partners are left-handers as well. So, I will be well prepared for my opponent,” he wisely deducted.

The fact that he is not acquainted with his American opponent, does not trouble him in the least, since his game plan is to box his best and win the fight. Shedding all trace of any modesty, he unashamedly admitted that he is a unique fighter, who is capable of landing accurate and deadly pound-for-pound punches to his opponents.

He boxes with his sparring buddies, Derrick Harmon and William Stuart, for sometimes three hours in the evenings. He sometimes boxes a solid 12-round match and at other times he boxes for 10 rounds.

According to trainer Morgan, the Braithwaite camp will be dropping the number of rounds to 10, as the days get closer to the actual fight. The peak of the boxer’s training regimen is two to three weeks before the fight. His general training programme was trimmed down from last Saturday and around the same time, his camp moved in to the Miccosukee Resort and Gaming Center. He would spar only 10-round matches, as he has to sustain the ideal weight of about 190 lb for the cruiserweight division.

Braithwaite’s camp, being the wiser this time, switched their game plan and focus for this important defence. Compared to the boxer’s last encounter in Como, Italy, where he was not informed of the crucial fact that the vacant WBC cruiserweight division match was being held in a casino high up on the Alps on the borders of Switzerland, this time his camp made sure he is training in close territory where the fight will be staged in Miami, Florida to acclimatise.

The important issue here is that his mind, body and spirit must be in tune with the climatic conditions and locale of the territory where the fight would take place.

A strong patriot at heart, Big Truck is wearing the colours of his country’s national flag again for his defence bout.

“I will be wearing the colours of Guyana’s flag for this fight too,” he asserted.

At his last fight in Italy, the WBC cruiserweight champ sported a boxing trunks dyed with the five colours of his country’s flag. He believes this little gesture sends a strong message across to the world community that Guyana is a uniquely beautiful country and her people take pride in being Guyanese, wherever they may be. It is his humble way of paying tribute to his country of birth, he said.

“I am set to put Guyana on the world map again,” he said proudly, adding, “Winning this fight is a must. I am not giving up this title just yet.”

With an impressive record of 18 wins, 15 of which were via KOs and no losses to his name, Braithwaite calmly stated, “Anything I do, I do it for winning.”

He is not sure if he would have many Guyanese fans to cheer him up at the fight, however, a boxing crowd minus Guyanese people never bothered him before. Many of his fights were staged in countries far from his homeland. He never made this fact interfere with his decision to win his fights.

“I am accustomed to fight without much Guyanese support at the ringside,” he noted.

“But, it does not bother me in the least,” he revealed.

A Guyanese Consulate is in Miami, but according to trainer Morgan, he is not sure if the officials at the consulate there are going to take any actions to mobilise the Guyanese populace in that area of Florida to go see the Braithwaite-Springs 12-round title bout. A large number of Guyanese have settled in different parts of Florida, mainly because of the similarity to Guyana’s tropical weather conditions.

Morgan was not sure if the officials at the Guyana Consulate in Miami have any knowledge of the upcoming title fight. The Braithwaite camp did not make any contact with the Guyana Consulate in Miami either, said the trainer.

`Big Truck’ expressed thanks and gratitude to the Guyanese sporting bodies for awarding him Sportsman-of-the-Year.