The date of the long-awaited rematch between Shondell Alfred and Corrine Van Ryck De Groot has been officially set for May 22, although a venue for the fight is yet to be determined.
The shift in date from May 1 to May 22 was formally announced yesterday at the office of the fight promoter Odinga Lumumba of McNeal Enterprise.
The venue for the bout is not yet confirmed Lumumba said. “We’re still looking at whether we’re going to go to Buddy’s [Princess Hotel], we have to do some engineering work at the pool to see if it makes sense. On the interim we’re working on the Sports Hall just in case,” the promoter stated.
On Wednesday, Lumumba told Stabroek Sport that the bout was postponed mainly because of the late signing of the contract by the Canadian De Groot. He also pointed out that the bantamweight contest would have clashed with the Floyd Mayweather/Shane Mosley fight for the WBA Super World welterweight title in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA on May 1 and the Hugh Ross Bodybuilding Classic on May 2 at the National Cultural Centre.
Meanwhile at yesterday’s briefing Alfred also received an advance on her purse for the rematch. Lumumba also stated that the organisers also anticipate having Elton ‘Collie Bully’ Dharry as the feature fight on the May 22 card.
On September 26 last year, Alfred defeated De Groot by unanimous decision in their World International Boxing Association (WIBA) bantamweight title fight at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall. A rematch was subsequently ordered by President of the WIBA Ryan Wissow after De Groot’s camp protested against the decision. De Groot’s camp had argued that the officiating referee had failed to correctly rule on two knockdowns that the Canadian had inflicted on Alfred. However, De Groot’s petition to have the result overturned was denied by the WIBA and a rematch ordered.
