Female fighters are set to take centre stage on the amateur segment of the ‘Return of the Scorpio’ Pro/Am card set for May 21 at the National Gymnasium.
According to a press release, Jamaica’s Britney McFarlane will match gloves with Alesha Jackman. This announcement comes on the heels of the disclosure that Alesha’s sister, Abiola will take on Trinidad’s Lee Ann Boodram.
The sisters are the first-ever female Guyanese pugilists to attain world rankings from the International Boxing Association (IBA), after their participation at the Women’s World Championships in New Delhi, India. Abiola is now ranked 27th in the world in the Elite Women’s 81 and over Kg or heavyweight division while Alesha is seeded 58th in the Elite women’s 60-63 Kg or junior welterweight division.
GBA President Steve Ninvalle said, “The confirmation of Jamaica’s participation coupled with Trinidad and Tobago’s established attendance, has firmly concretized this card as an international endeavor.”
Ninvalle added, “What is exceptionally noteworthy is that female pugilists will take center stage in the amateur section, which is a momentous achievement and a watershed moment for the discipline. Additionally, the confirmed participation of our Caribbean counterparts will certainly raise the event’s already established international profile and will act as a catalyst for the publicizing of the female game.”
He added, “The GBA has once again illustrated its unwavering commitment to the development of female boxing which has pellucidly taken centre stage in 2023 via local events and international sojourns and campaigns.
The association remains dedicated to elevating every aspect of the sport, with particular emphasis on empowering the female component which in previous eras was neglected. This is our evidential and unwritten mandate for 2023 and onward.”
In what is anticipated to be the biggest fight night in a decade, the Briso Promotions ‘Pro/Am Card’, is being projected to surpass the atmosphere, ambiance and overall quality of the recently staged Patrick Ford Memorial Championships, which was hailed as the benchmark for a local boxing event.
Meanwhile, five exciting professional bouts and an equal number of amateur engagements are confirmed for the impending fight night, which will be headlined and co-headlined by Elton Dharry and Dexter ‘De Kid’ Marques respectively.
Dharry will enter the squared circle against Ronald Ramos in an eight-round bantamweight fixture whilst Marques will battle Luis Carrillo in an eight-round super bantamweight encounter.
A Caribbean rivalry will also resume on fight night as Terrence Adams is penciled to face Barbadian, Ricardo Blackman while Anthony Augustin will match skills with Anderson Emanuel also of Barbados. The card will also feature a six-round super flyweight bout between Natalya Delgado and Darianis Garcia.
Next week’s fight night will mark Dharry’s return to the ring in over a year and will serve as a tune-up for his July encounter on local shores with Hugo Hernandez of Mexico for the WBC Silver Belt. Dharry, 37, fought for the WBA Super flyweight title in 2019 but suffered a controversial ninth-round stoppage loss to Australian Andrew Maloney in Melbourne.
