– Predicts a tenth round knockout
Mauricio Pastrana arrived in Guyana yesterday ahead of his clash with Guyana’s Leon ‘Hurry-Up’ Moore at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Saturday for the vacant NABA, WBC Continental Americas and CABOFE Bantamweight titles as well as the WBA Fedelatin and Fedecaribe super bantamweight titles.
Speaking with Stabroek Sport via an interpreter at Kings Plaza Hotel, Pastrana said that he doesn’t know anything much about the Guyanese fighter but what is certain is that he would have to knock him out to win.
“Well he’s fighting at home and I know how it is sometimes so I know that I would have to knock him out to win this fight. It means a lot to me because it would put me back right at the top there where I want to be again so, I’m coming hard and it would be a great fight,” the Colombian said.
Moore in several interviews with Stabroek Sport pointed out that he was longing to fight another Colombian after his controversial loss to Irene Pacheco in 2006 for the World Boxing Organisation (WBO) Inter-Continental title.
His loss which he deemed as devastating to his career was so contentious that two of the judges were banned for life.
“Pacheco is a friend of mine and I saw the fight, I think it was a bad decision yes but that’s boxing sometimes, so I heard he said he wants revenge and so on, so I’m here and it would be a tough fight because I want the win just as well but it would be more pressure for him because he is now trying to get to the top. Me, I’ve been there and trying to get back there again,” said Pastrana.
Pastrana has a ring record of 48 fights, with 35 wins, 11 losses and two draws while Moore, who is the Caribbean’s highest ranked fighter after being placed at number seven in the world by the World Boxing Council (WBC), fought 26 times with 24 wins, 22 of which came by way of knockouts along with two losses.
But the distinction comes in their level of experience since Pastrana has held world titles in three different divisions (108, 115 and 122 lbs) and also held four world titles (WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF).
Nevertheless, the Colombian believes this should not be taken into consideration since this is boxing and “this is two fighters who have the same aim, same goal to reach to the top, so it would come down to who wants it more.”
Meanwhile his trainer and manager Nelson Lopez is of the opinion that if Moore cannot get past Pastrana, he should kiss his chances and hopes of becoming Guyana’s next world champion goodbye.
“Ok let’s be real here, this is no jokey business, this is boxing and its very serious too. Now if Leon can’t put away Pastrana, then his managers need to start looking for something else for him to do because this is his time to shine and if they say he is as good as they say he is, then he will need to prove this to the world and more so his fans here,” Lopez said.
Lopez however predicts that Pastrana would take Moore out in the tenth of their 12 round encounter saying, “I think Pastrana would take him out in 10, just like that. . . So Leon is in for a fight of his life.”
“This fight means a lot for Pastrana,” Lopez added, while recalling his fighter’s rollercoaster career in the ring and his journey back to the top.
“Mauricio Pastrana is a great fighter but he is now on his way back up there, so this fight means a lot to us, just like it does for Leon and his team because once we get past him, it would put us at least in the top four or five in the world and makes it easier for us to get a shot at the title. So, it’s going to be a good fight; Leon has it all to lose, while my fighter he has been there before, so,” Lopez stated.
