Trinidad and Tobago’s Lee Ann Boodram will be banking on her experience to come up trumps against Abiola Jackman when the pair matches gloves on Sunday.
The Twin Island boxing champion and Jackman will trade leather in the marquee matchup of the amateur segment of the ‘Return of the Scorpio’ Pro/Am card at the National Gymnasium.
Boodram, who previously fought on local shores in February, winning against St. Lucian, Mikaela Khodra will attempt to earn another notable scalp, as she will enter the squared circle against Jackman who is ranked 27th by the IBA in the Elite Women 81 and over Kg class.
Quizzed on her expectations for the encounter, and how confident she is of emerging victorious, Boodram said, “I know for a fact that my opponent is younger and inexperienced. That’s why I took the bout knowing that she is significantly heavier than I am. I am relying on my experience as a boxer to win this match.”
Despite the inexperience of her opponent, Boodram conceded that she expects a thrilling contest since her opponent has the desire and appetite for the combative discipline despite the dearth of competition. She explained, “She’s shown that she’s got a passion for boxing and has stayed in the sport despite having a lack of competition. I expect that this bout will be action-packed as she seems up to a fight, and she will have a fight facing me.”
Questioned on the importance of national pride being at stake in the encounter, Boodram declared, “I am excited to return to Guyana because I was victorious in my last fight there. I am excited to hold my national flag high as I get a chance to be victorious again.”
She further affirmed that the bout is very significant, as it will influence the direction of her career, noting, “This victory is important as it will be a stepping stone in my career as an elite female boxer.”
The ‘Return of the Scorpio’ Pro/Am Card is regarded by many experts as the largest fight card in more than a decade and is expected to surpass the overall quality of the critically praised Patrick Forde Memorial Championships, which is the yardstick for a local boxing event.
Five exciting professional bouts which will be headlined and co-headlined by Elton Dharry and Dexter ‘De Kid’ Marques respectively, as well as an amateur section of equal measure, are confirmed for the fight card.
Dharry will make his return to the squared circle against Ronald Ramos in an eight-round bantamweight fixture whilst Marques will engage Luis Carrillo in an eight-round Super Bantamweight encounter.
A Caribbean rivalry will also recommence as local star Terrence Adams will battle Ricardo Blackman of Barbados, while Anthony Augustin will face off against Barbadian Emmanuel Anderson. The card will also feature a six-round Super Flyweight bout between females Natalya Delgado and Darianis Garcia.
In the amateur segment, Jamaica’s Britney MacFarlane is the confirmed opponent for rising star Alesha Jackman, who is the sibling of Abiola and is ranked 58th in the Elite Women 60-63 Kg or junior welterweight division.
The sisters are the first-ever Guyanese female pugilists to attain a world ranking from the International Boxing Association (IBA), after their participation at the Women’s World Championships in New Delhi, India.
The May 21st fight night will mark Dharry’s return to the ring in over a year and will serve as a tune-up for his July encounter on local shores with Hugo Hernandez of Mexico for the WBC Silver Belt. Dharry, 37, fought for the WBA Super flyweight title in 2019 but suffered a controversial ninth-round stoppage loss to Australian Andrew Maloney in Melbourne.
Tickets can be purchased at the sole location of Hot & Spicy Creole Corner. The prizes are: VVIP $10,000, VIP $6000, Ringside $3000, and Stands $1000.
