Welterweight champ suffers fractured jaw from out-of-ring punch

Laured Stewart holding a trophy that he won after one of his bouts earlier this year.

By Emmerson Campbell

National amateur welterweight champion, Laured Stewart, suffered a setback to his budding career after he sustained a fractured jaw at the hands of an assailant who is still at large following an argument at a cricket game in Sophia last Sunday.

Stabroek Sport caught up with Stewart’s mother Yonette Benjamin yesterday and during an interview she spoke about how her son sustained the injury and also pleaded for justice for the talented amateur pugilist.

Said Benjamin: “I was at home on Sunday and he (Stewart) told me he is going to play a cricket tournament in Sophia and I told him ok and later that day he sent me a message and he told me a man cuffed him to his jaw.  I said why (and)  he said the man’s team was about to lose the game and he started to taunt and somebody mentioned that he (Stewart) is an under-19 boxer and the man said I don’t have no regards for boxers and he went up to Laured and said I will cuff you and he (Stewart) said you could cuff me, if you cuff me I will bring my father and the man started punching him and told Laured to bring his father.”

Benjamin said that she told Stewart to go to the hospital but he said no. The next morning he said he could not feel his teeth, so she took him to Woodlands Hospital.

Stewart’s mother noted that she was unable to get a police report at Woodlands Hospital and so she took her 18-year-old son to the Georgetown Hospital.

Benjamin said that as a result of the surgery