Leon Moore: ‘I really want to give Marques the whipping of his life’

Guyana’s world-rated and WBC Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) and NABA bantamweight champion Leon ‘Hurry-up’ Moore will be facing national bantamweight champion Dexter Marques for his title next weekend and he told Stabroek Sport yesterday that his aim is to give his opponent the whipping of his life.

Ironically, Moore once held the title after he stopped Mark Dummett in 2004 at the MacKenzie Sports Club ground in Linden but vacated it in 2007 when he secured his CABOFE title with a fifth round TKO over Linden Arthur in Barbados.

Leon ‘Hurry-Up’ Moore caught shadow boxing at the Andrew Lewis gym yesterday as he prepares for his clash with Dexter Marques. (Orlando Charles photo)

Marques took the belt the same year at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall by beating Orlando Rogers.

Meanwhile, in response to boastful calls from Marques,  Moore accepted but declared that this is one fight he is not going to ‘hurry-up’.
Currently rated among the world’s top ten fighters in his division, Moore said: “Presently I should be focusing on acquiring a world title fight but instead I have to now look at fighting Marques who I know can’t beat me on my worst day…seriously, I just want to put a stop to all the boasting by this young fighter.”

“I really don’t care about the belt, I just want to teach Marques a lesson because I don’t know who is fooling this guy and telling him that he can beat me. I’m always training because you never know when you can get a deal, so I’m always ready for a challenge,” Moore added.

Known popularly as ‘Hurry-Up’ or ‘Chicken’,  Moore said that when he wins the belt he feels he would abandon it again but he reiterated that his focus is on becoming a world champion.

“I do respect and love boxing in Guyana, but right now I’m way above fighting for a national title; it’s just a national title, no big deal for me any more….that’s why I’m only doing it for the fans in this country who want to see me fight…I think I would give up the belt but not so easy, if Marques wants it again, he would have to fight me to get it…I would like some young fighter you know, know how it feels to be national champion,” the fighter said.

Moore who last fought in Linden defeated Mark ‘The Killer’ Murray with a third round TKO and of course Marques was there once again like a thorn in his feet and it was then that Moore said  he would take up the challenge.

The fighter works out at the Andrew ‘Six Head’ Lewis Gym in Albouystown and his training, he said, is coming along smoothly.
“My training and everything is ok…I do spar but I don’t encourage sparring with the smaller fighters, I would take on fighters like Denny Dalton and them so I would know where my power is,” Moore added.

The record between the two fighters paints a clear picture since Moore has 25 fights under his belt with 23 wins, 21 of which came by way of knockout and there were two losses.

However both of his defeats were in title fights, losing paradoxically in split decisions in Colombia and Kyrgyzstan.
Marques on the other hand, only has four fights to his name since coming into the professional arena in 2007.
The two fighters will do battle for over 12 rounds at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.