– Moore down for NABA title clash
The latest boxing news to hit the streets is that national female bantamweight champion Shondel ‘Mystery Lady’ Alfred will fight for her first world title when she faces Canadian Corinne Van Ryck De Groot for the vacant Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) bantamweight title.
And World Boxing Council (WBC) Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) bantamweight champion Leon ‘Hurry-Up’ Moore will face Colombian Mauricio Pastrana over 12 rounds for the vacant North American Boxing Association (NABA) Bantamweight title on September 26.
The Guyana Boxing Board of Control has not yet made an official pronouncement on the card, but a credible source close to the board said that the card was being promoted by Holland’s Entertainment and S and S Promotions.
The 27-year-old Alfred has fought 15 times since turning professional in 1999 and has tasted victory 10 times, three of which she won by a technical knockout (TKO).
She has been knocked out twice in her five losses.
But the Guyanese ‘Mystery Lady’ is no pushover and though she had a rollercoaster career, her highlight in the sport came when she won the WIBA Iberian-American bantamweight title in 2004 by beating Trinidadian Vicki Boodram in the twin-island republic.
Her opponent De Groot is a stuntswoman and an American gladiator by profession who made her professional debut on June 25, 1998.
She is undefeated in 10 professional bouts, with four knockout wins, as of April 14, 2007.
De Groot is ranked number four by the International Women’s Boxing Federation (IWBF) as of September 2002, number four by the International Female Boxers Association (IFBA) as of August 2002, number two by the WIBA as of September 2002 and number two by the Women’s Boxing Page website.
The 40-year-old De Groot, known as ‘Panther’ or ‘Goose’ was born in East York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada of Guyanese parentage.
Meanwhile for Moore, it could be a walk down the path for a world title when he faces his second Colombian fighter since entering the pro-circuit in 2001.
Moore would want to exact revenge for his 2006 loss to Irene Pacheco in Barranquilla, Colombia, when he went down on a split decision in a World Boxing Organization (WBO) Inter-Continental title fight.
His loss had sparked worldwide criticism and speculations after an uproar from Moore and his team and justice was served the Guyanese since the local judges who scored Pacheco a winner were banned for life for dishonest scoring.
‘Hurry-up’ Moore’s record stands at 24 wins from 26 fights, 22 of which came by way of knockouts. He has two losses.
His most recent win was on June 26 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall when he whipped Dexter ‘The Kid’ Marques by way of a second round technical knockout (TKO) to reclaim his national bantamweight title which he had vacated in 2007.
It was that same year that Moore took the WBC Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) title by defeating Linden Arthur in Barbados with a fifth round TKO.
Mauricio Pastrana has stepped into the ring 48 times, winning 35 fights, 23 of which came by way of knockout while also picking up two draws and 11 losses.
The 36-year-old Pastrana turned professional in October 1991 and in his debut at Sincelejo, Colombia, he defeated fellow debutant Allende Rudino, knocking him out in the second round.
On January 18, 1997 he lifted the IBF Light Flyweight title by defeating Michael Carbajal in a twelve-round split decision. Pastrana went on to take the WBA Flyweight title, IBA and IBO Super Flyweight title and IBA Bantamweight titles.
According to the source, almost everything is already finalized for the two fights and should be publicly announced sometime this week.
The source said that while a venue is not yet ascertained it is proposed for the National Park (weather permitting) or the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
