‘Return of the Scorpio’ Pro/Am postponed to June 3rd

THE highly anticipated ‘Return of the Scorpio’ Pro/ Am boxing card that was scheduled to hit off tomorrow at the National Gymnasium has been postponed to June 3rd because the Colombian fighters, who were scheduled to compete did not had sufficient documentation to travel to Guyana.

The organisers were made aware of this on the night the pugilists were set to arrive in the ‘Land of Many Waters’.

However, the organisers assured that the relevant documentation will be rectified in eight days and the fighters will be ready to compete on the new date

During a press brief yesterday at the 704 Sports Bar on Lamaha Street, president of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA), Steve Ninvalle, posited that this Pro/Am card, which is the first in Guyana for a few years, will be one of the best boxing meets in recent times

Ninvalle also explained that while he is aware that many of the fans were anticipating some fistic fury this weekend, postponement should be looked at with some optimism

“The positives is that the event will have an added two weeks to be marketed and, more importantly, the fighters will have more time to be in ship-shape for what some are dubbing as an important meet for their careers

AIBA three - star coach , Sebert Blake , mentioned during the ‘presser’ that his fighters will be training twice a day from today He shared that the boxers are hungry and want to ensure that they put on a good show for the fans. Blake also made a call for the fans, “To come out in your numbers, wave your rags and flags, and cheer the Guyanese fighters to victory.” to follow on 163 behind on the previous day

Promoter Seon Bristol was unfazed by the postponement and was also confident that the added time will help ensure that all systems are in place for a memorable event.

The result meant that the three - match series , which continues next Tuesday at the same venue , remained level at 0-0

“ With all the rain around , it took a lot of time out of the game, and it did not allow us to get the result we wanted ,” West Indies “A” captain Joshua Da Silva said. “But it was a good pitch, and a good contest between the two teams.

“We had a really good performance from [ Jair McAllister]. He is still fairly new to the first - class scene, so to see him bowl the way that he did , and with the aggression that he did, it really goes to show the fast bowling depth that we have in the West Indies Good pace and aggression is all we could ask from him, and he did fantastic to get seven wickets

“ In the remaining matches , we are looking to play the same brand of cricket that we played in this match We did a good job with the bat, but there are still a few things we can touch on, and try and play the best cricket that we can. We came here to play to win , so the guys are looking forward to the remaining two.”

After the new-ball pair of Akeem Jordan and leftarm pacer Raymon Reifer removed Zakir Khan and Saif Hassan respectively, in the first half-hour, Shadman shared 66 for the third wicket with Mahmudul Hasan Joy to bring some stability to the innings

Five wickets – two apiece to left - arm spinner Gudakesh Motie and McAllister – had Bangladesh “A” wobbling on 132 for seven before Rishad Hossain , not out on 20 , joined Jaker Ali, not out on 36, and put on 55 – unbroken – for the eighth wicket to bail out the hosts.

Motie ended with two for 13 from five overs , and McAllister took two for 48 from 11 overs and ended with match figures of seven for 108 to earn the Player-of-the-Match award.