By Marlon Munroe
World-ranked Guyanese boxer Leon ‘Hurry Up’ Moore has won 78 percent of his fights by the TKO route and now he wants to enrich his legacy by also being a promoter.
Moore is not the first Guyanese boxer to travel this route but he is the youngest at age 31 and he is still active in the sport.
His next ring assignment will be on November 6 on the Caribbean Fury 2 card at the Princess Hotel against Venezuela’s Breilor ‘Zulianito de Oro’ Teran.
This will be the second time that boxing will be staged at a hotel in Guyana after Seon Bristol, a former Guyanese boxer, made history by staging the ‘Deadly Encounters’ card at the same venue on June 5 this year.
Moore through his promotion company Hurry Up Promotions will be making his debut as co-promoter of the Caribbean Fury 2 card on November 6 with Carwyn Holland, the main promoter of the marquee event of the Holland’s Entertainment Promotion (HEP) group.
Ahead of next month’s card Moore acknowledged that while he is stepping into unknown waters, the event will be “a huge success.”
Moore who has an impressive record of 26 wins (22 by TKO) and two defeats also stated that the night’s proceedings will be complemented with a win over Teran, who won 12 of his 21 bouts and suffered eight losses.
Teran was the WBC FECARBOX super bantamweight champion before he lost that title to Giovanni Caro in July. The 25-year-old Venezuelan has won 12 fights, lost eight and drew one. Four of his fights came via the knockout route.
“I am looking for the support from ardent supporters, business places.
This card is going to be one of the most outstanding cards of all the rest we have ever had. This is a step for us and I am looking to move forward from here in the ring and in promoting,” the southpaw commented.
The Pan American Boxing Association (PABA) super bantamweight and World Boxing Council (WBC) Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) super bantamweight champion has not been in the round since January due to a thumb injury.
He admitted though that therapy and the recovery process along with training and handling the affairs of his start-up business have not been easy.
However, he stated that he has managed to cram all the work into his day, while still focusing on gaining a shot at a world title sometime in the new year.
He indicated that his hunger is still intact and he will continue to take every challenger “very seriously,” more especially since he has the honour of headlining the Caribbean Fury 2 card.
Commenting on his schedule, he said “It is hard, I could say so. This morning I had to get up and train and now I working. Hard work takes a lot out of you in the gym and even at this press conference and then you have to go out in the sun; not too good for boxers but I am working around it.
“Making the platform…give me two or three years after I will be one of the youngest and biggest promoters in Guyana alongside Carwyn (Moore’s Manager)”, the North American Boxing Association (NABA) champion emphasized.
Moore, who has been in the ring for about 15 years, is expected to be working with guidance from Keith Bazilio since Holland will be abroad on an assignment in Europe for the next week. According to reports Moore will be meeting the sponsors, media and other stakeholders while Bazilio and another partner will be in the background dealing with the administrative aspects of the card.
Meanwhile, Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) and Global Boxing Union (GBU) heavyweight champion Gwendolyn O’Neil, Josiah Judah, brother of former world champion Zab Judah, ‘Deadly’ Denny Dalton and Pamela London have been added to the fight card. It was learned also that Leon ‘The Lion’ Gilkes, a local journeyman, has also found a place on the Caribbean Fury 2 roster.
WIBA bantamweight champion Shondell ‘Mystery Lady’ Alfred will also appear on the card to fight Olga ‘La Mona’ Julio of Colombia in a six-round non-title fight. While Alfred had stated that this will be a warm-up fight for her, she is taking it seriously especially since she intends to unify the division next year.
