By Iva Wharton
The Clive Atwell/Prince-Lee Isidore match up on the Redemption Card is expected to be the most exciting fight at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall tomorrow night.
Both fighters are at the same level in the sport and both have the potential and aspiration to become world champions. They are at the top of their boxing careers and will be fighting for the vacant WBC/CABOFE Welterweight title.
The winner of this fight will have the opportunity to fight at the WBC Celebration Championship.
A confident Atwell said that by right his fight would be the catchy one on the card given his record at the amateur level and his subsequent transition to profession boxing.
“My opponent Mr Isidore from Trinidad is the number one fighter in Trinidad,” Atwell said. “As a matter of fact he is the world champion hope for Trinidad in the near future. [It will be] champion versus champion.”
Asked what he felt his chances were against the Trinidadian, Atwell said boxing is what he does. “It’s my job. At the end of the day, I will come out with my hands in the air by any means necessary.
If you want to fight I will fight, if you want to box I will box. Whatever he brings to the table, I am just going to adjust to match him and I will come out as the victor.”
He admitted that he had never seen Isidore in the ring before, but said he was not at all intimidated by what he has heard of the Trinidadian.
“I have heard about him. [I] have spoken to people who would have fought him before… The time was a bit late to sit down and focus on tapes [of Isidore in the ring],” Atwell said, adding, “we bypassed [that] and went into doing what we do. So I am expecting to win.”
Atwell said his preparation was finished and he was focused on recuperating before entering the ring tomorrow.
“We have had… morning sessions doing miles upon miles in the Tucville ground along with some sprints which assist with speed and also opening the lungs, leg agility, strengthening the upper body, delivering effective blows to direct target areas. In the end all you have is an overall fitness as it relates to an athletic body,” he said.
Atwell boasted that he is known for his skill and speed and intends to give the boxing fans exactly that when he gets into the ring.
Isidore, on the other hand, said fighting Atwell would be like going up against any other fighter. “For me, I already did the preparations and I am okay with the fight,” Isidore said. “I am not talking down my opponent before the fight and all the best on Saturday [tomorrow].”
Isidore, who will be fighting in Guyana for the first time, said he it would be difficult to explain what patrons can expect, but it will be self-explanatory in the ring.
“The type of fighter I am, I can’t really express it in words,” he said. “It’s something left to be seen, because I can’t really explain what I do in the ring. It is just that I can’t explain the type of person I am before or how I project myself in the ring. It’s left to be seen.”
This fight, according to Isidore, is a really important bout for him given that it affords the opportunity to fight in the WBC Celebration Championship.
“So it’s really important because from there a lot of opportunities can open up for me and where my boxing career is concerned…. It’s something we have been working very hard for.”
Training, he said, has always been ongoing for him, but it was stepped up because of the importance of the fight.
“So the ante was up because we know the goal we are aiming for is a very high prize and our guy is no walk in the park. So we are not taking him for granted. We should show respect and get respect,” he added.
Isidore’s coach Bharrath Ramoutar said they will be doing some light work to get accustomed to the area before entering the ring.
According to him, after checking Atwell’s record and realising he was undefeated he stepped up Isidore’s level of training. He said given that the two are at the same level it is going to be a very interesting and competitive fight.
Ramoutar said he hoped there would be no controversy. “What I would want to see on that night is everybody doing their jobs. Too many times, we have a lot of controversy because officials, especially, do not do their jobs correctly. So if the boxers do their jobs in the ring, the officials do their jobs and the corner people do their jobs correctly
I think we are going to have a very nice and interesting evening.”
Isidore’s record is 8 wins, 1 loss and I draw.
