By Emmerson Campbell
National welterweight champion Iwan ‘Pure Gold’ Azore says he plans to regroup and return to the ring to fight at the junior welterweight level, after suffering a ninth-round knockout by Simeon ‘Candy Man’ Hardy in their WBC CABOFE welterweight title bout on Friday.
When Stabroek Sport caught up with Azore yesterday he disclosed that his immediate plan is to campaign at junior welterweight category where he thinks he would be a bigger challenge to this opponents. “I would not be fighting back at welterweight again. I doubt whether I will be fighting in that division again, I walk around with 150 pounds, that is my normal … weight without training, so when I finish training I go down to 143-144 [pounds] so I was much more lighter than Hardy, he was 147 [pounds] and when he rehydrated he was much bigger and stronger than I was and that played a factor in the fight,” he said.
Azore also disclosed that the Guyana Boxing Board of Control advised him to keep training when he returns home and he would be given a shot at the junior welterweight title. The boxer was set to return to Trinidad and Tobago last night. “My next fight here is supposed to be in April or May to fight for the junior welterweight national title and I promise my fans that when I come back to Guyana they will get a better show than what they got on Friday night,” he said.
According to Azore, the cut he sustained over his left eye, before the fight, as a result of a bare-knuckled punch, hampered his training as it limited the number of sparring sessions he had while preparing for the big match. “I’m not the type of guy that complains a lot but the cut did play a part, the timings wasn’t there I tried to pump the jab and the jab was coming but nothing was coming after the jab.”
Nevertheless, ‘Pure Gold’ congratulated Hardy and his camp and encouraged them to build the ‘Candy Man’s’ record. “I must give Hardy and his team credit, a loss is a loss…he is the champion now and I must congratulate him, but he has to maintain it because it is not about beating Azore and getting through it; it’s about maintaining the weight and going on top,” he said.
Twenty-nine-year-old Azore also advised local fighters and the Hardy management to implement strategies such as fight backwards. “Overseas exposure taught me to fight going backwards, my advice to them is to learn to fight going backwards because that is one of his main problems and his defence also his lack of stamina, he said, adding that “He defeated me because I didn’t push him that much to show him up, probably I didn’t have much hitting power to show him up but those are his weak points right now. If he improves those he will do well in the tournament, I must congratulate him for his performance and I hope he does well.”
With his win, 24-year-old Hardy will be one of the opponents in the WBC Cup. The 40-week tournament, which commences in May, will see fighters from across the globe contending to earn lucrative paydays and international exposure.
