‘Magic’ Khan to headline amateur wing of Fight Night card

The Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) boxer-of-the-year for 2011, Imran ‘Magic’ Khan, will headline the amateur segment of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) 20th edition of the Guyana Fight Night Pro Am card on January 27.

This was disclosed yesterday during a telephone interview with Tournament Director of GABA, Terrence Poole.

Imran Khan

The monthly card which will be staged at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall will see Khan, a road-to-London Olympic Games hopeful, matching gloves with another road-to-London prospect, Richard Williamson.

The contest between the two bantamweights will mark the third occasion that they will be matching gloves. Williamson who trains at the Pocket Rocket Boxing Gym (PRBG) in Berbice defeated Khan in their first encounter on the 10th Pro Am card in February last year, while Khan avenged the loss on another Pro Am card four months later in June.

Both of those bouts went to the scorecards.

Khan, who clinched a bronze medal at the ALBA Games in Venezuela and a gold medal at the inaugural Ronald Wilson Memorial Tournament in Barbados last year, will be facing a tough assignment in Williamson before he heads to Cardiff, Wales next month for an Amateur International Boxing Association (AIBA) training stint from February 18 to March 10.

Williamson who has recorded three victories on the GBBC’s Pro Am card also won a silver medal at the Ronald Wilson Memorial Tournament.

Williamson’s younger brother Joel Williamson will also be on the amateur segment of the card. The younger Williamson who also trains at the PRBG will be matching gloves with Travis Hubbard who trains at the Harpy Eagles Gym in Albouystown in the 95-99 pounds category.

Terrence Poole

Other pugilists who will be making up the amateur segment will be Harpy Eagles Gym Randolph Singh versus Young Achievers product Quincy Gomes in a lightweight contest.

Matthew Hollingsworth from the Five Star Boxing Gym will come up against Diwani Lampkin from the Forgotten Youth Foundation Gym in a 100-106 pound matchup.

The professional segment of the card will be headlined by Guyana’s welterweight champion Iwan ‘Pure Gold’ Azore and Simeon ‘Candy Man’ Hardy for the vacant World Boxing Council’s (WBC) CABOFE welterweight title.

The undercard will feature two more welterweights with Jermaine King coming up against Cecil Smith over four rounds while Mitchell Rogers will take on Anthony Augustin in a four-round heavyweight fight.

In a four-round catch-weight contest, Guyana’s middleweight champion Edmond DeClou will match gloves with James Walcott.

The monthly card is an initiative of the GBBC in collaboration with the Sports Ministry and the National Communications Network (NCN).

Sponsors of the event include Digicel, Giftland Office Max, Courts, Banks DIH Limited and ANSA McAl.

Admission is $1000, while children will be asked to pay half price.  Bell time is 20:00 hrs.