Dalton says ready for Quashie on Friday
Stabroek News
April 14, 2004
Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) welterweight champion, Guyanese `Deadly' Denny Dalton is eager to get back into the ring on Friday evening and does not think the fight is too soon after his bout last month with Leon `The Lion' Gilkes.
Speaking to Stabroek Sport, Dalton who is billed to tackle Trinidad and Tobago's Garfield Quashie over eight rounds, said "I don't think it's too early to be fighting again. My last bout with Gilkes was not a tough one, so I'm ready to go again."
Dalton stopped Gilkes at one minute 49 seconds of the ninth round in a bout that was scheduled for ten rounds.
Dalton says that the March 28 fight was not too tough for him. However, some boxing pundits feel Dalton was roughed up too much and should not return to the ring so soon.
Friday night's 28-round card is being promoted by Holland's Entertainment Promotions (HEP) and is dubbed `The Foreign Invasion'.
HEP's head Carwyn Holland said Friday's card is a fund-raising effort for his proposed May 29 world title card that is expected to have on show, American Kathy Rivers and Guyana's female champion Gwendolyn O'Neil.
Other title fights on the May card will see Dalton defending his CABOFE title against an opponent to be named, while Leon Moore is down to face Mexico's Elvis Martinez for the CABOFE bantamweight title.
Holland said he recently received a message from Rivers for O'Neil. "Rivers told me she was coming to Guyana to claim a title that she believes belongs to her," Holland said. She said that unlike Laila Alli in Africa she will be here to beat O'Neil and return to America with the crown.
The feature fight on Friday's card brings together Guyana's Pamela London and Trinidad's Crystal Lessy over six rounds.
This fight will serve as a warm up for London who is O'Neil's stand-by. The Dalton and Quashie fight is the main supporting bout.
National bantamweight champion Moore is down to face Marcelis Gladstone over six rounds, while Lennox Allen makes his professional debut against Mark Murray over four rounds.
Rudy Fraser and Kelcie Ross will both make their professional debuts in a four-round affair.
Admission to ring side is $1200 while tickets for the stands cost $600.
Meanwhile, WIBA #1 and IFBA #2 O'Neil, who was billed to face Trinidadian Arista Logie on Friday night, will now fight on April 24 in Barbados against Trinidadian Schroeller Carrington.
This will be O'Neil's final warm-up fight before her May 29 ring date with Rivers.
Holland said Rivers is promoting the card in the US and is expected to arrive in Guyana with a large number of supporters and journalists. The fight will be televised internationally.
On the May 29 card which is estimated to cost in the vicinity of $10 million, Allen is down to face an American opponent to be named.