`Boxing is a dynamic sport and let’s face it, it is a dying sport in this country. I’m trying my best to keep it floating but it is also important for corporate Guyana to come on board’
By Rawle Toney
Local businessman and boxing promoter Stanford ‘King’ Solomon believes that his upcoming card entitled ‘The Final Execution’ will be much more successful than his previous bouts.
The Cliff Anderson Sports Hall will be the venue for the card which will see the young Lennox ‘Too Sharp’ Allen squaring off against Leon ‘The Lion’ Gilkes for the vacant super middleweight title of Guyana while Leon ‘Hurry up’ Moore will face Dexter Marques for his national bantamweight title.
Speaking exclusively with Stabroek Sport yesterday, Solomon said that his involvement in the sport is not primarily to make money, but for the love of the game.
This would be Solomon’s second bout within three months, with his last ending in disappointment since the title fight between Allen and Howard Eastman had to be called off after the latter got entangled with the law.
“The Eastman/Allen fight was certainly a disappointment but one that was not catered for and one that you can’t do anything about. But I would be putting the two fighters together again, but right now we have to see how things play out,” said Solomon.
The boxing enthusiast also noted: “But I think there is something special about this fight because persons would have gotten a chance to see Gilkes against Eastman so now they would see Allen against Gilkes and as to the fight with Marques and Moore, that one was easy to pull together because those two have their own little war going.”
Sponsors on board
“I’ve been losing money in my previous fights that I have promoted,” said Solomon, who noted that he has been bankrolling his bouts with little or no sponsorship at times. However, this time around he has caught the attention of corporate Guyana for the June 27 fight.
“I spent an average of over $5M on this card which is less expensive than the last fight because I had to bring Allen back to face Eastman but now that Allen is here it’s good for me. I was able to get some sponsors on board like GT&T, Courts, Ansa McAl, Giftland Office Max, Demerara Life, Western Union and Hand in Hand Insurance Company,” Solomon noted.
According to the promoter, this card is expected to draw lots of people since the fighters are all favourites in their own right.
“The public is always supporting boxing, but with this fight it is going to draw a lot of people because some fighters have a large following, for example this girl Debby Tyson draws a crowd and especially Leon Moore, a lot of people come out to see him fight,” the promoter said.
The local entrepreneur said that he would like to see more businesses coming on board to support boxing.
“Boxing is a dynamic sport and let’s face it, it is a dying sport in this country. I’m trying my best to keep it floating but it is also important for corporate Guyana to come on board. Let’s be real, it is a sport where the fighters come from mostly areas that are loaded with poverty and if there is no where for them to go and to make some money, they will turn to crime,” Solomon asserted.
