By Treiston Joseph
Mitchell Rogers and Kurt Bess will clash for the heavyweight title of Guyana on May 28 at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall after the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) arranged their contract signing yesterday at the Abdool and Abdool Insurance building on High Street.
The card which will be billed as “RAMPAGE” will not be the regular Friday night fights as each bout will be a title fight. Rogers (6-2-0) and Bess (4-4-0) will face each other in a grudge match since both have earned a victory over the other on the two occasions that they fought.
Rogers lost his last match against Bess in November last year but has vowed that he will be back to his old self and would not underestimate Bess who at the time of that meeting had a record of 0-4-0.
“Right now I give him credit for what he has done in the matches after a few straight losses. I took him lightly in my loss to him and that was my mistake but this time around you will see the true me, the old me.
“The old Mitchell Rogers is a person that fights with aggression every time and once I throw a punch the crowd goes wow,” Rogers added. Rogers also lamented the fact that it was a bit discouraging to be out of the competitive circle for such a long period.
“Being out of the ring for so long was frustrating and it’s great to see that I will have a worthy opponent and I’m now going back to that in the ring spirit I used to have.
“He needs to come with his best though because both of us will be entering as champions,” he added.
Bess who recently won the Cruiserweight title of Guyana when asked to reply to Rogers stated, “I’m not saying directly what I’m going to do but I’m going for the win,” he commented.
Kwesi Jones (7-1-0) will also be in action against Lennox ‘2 Sharpe’ Allen (14-0-1) for the Cabofe Super Middleweight Title.
Jones will look to put a blemish on the undefeated record of Allen who resides in America and has knocked out nine of his opponents.
“Everybody knows Kwesi Jones could take a shot but it’s if Allen could take a shot and it doesn’t matter the fan support for Allen I’m going out there for a win,” Jones stated.
The night will also see Dexter Margues going up against Elton Dharry fo the Cabofe Bantamweight Title.
“I’m going out there to win, I will scope him out early in the first round and with my hand speed and power I should be able knock him out,” Margues stated in the absence of Dharry.
While Mandessa Moses is scheduled to be on the card, Stephaney George pulled out of the match while Wendy Allen was overweight.
GBBC president Peter Abdool declared that the card is a good one and he noted that the Friday night fights are a stepping stone to improve the boxer’s record. Abdool also stated that these bouts could play a pivotal role in boosting the boxers’ careers.
“I think it’s nothing they should take lightly especially the Cabofe bouts because those will rank you in the top 20 for the regional Cabofe title.
“I also believe that Mandessa, once given the opportunity will succeed faster than the men because the competitive level is lower for females than the males and because of her talent once she wins a world title I think she will reign for a long period,” Abdool added.
Four amateur bouts will be added to the card. Prices will be set a bit higher than usual since most of the bouts are title fights. And the matches will not be televised since the GBBC is looking to get more boxing fans out to the venue.
