The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

PROFESSIONAL boxing is back, thanks to the efforts of Buttons Formal Wear and the Strikers Boxing Club.

The two groups are collaborating to put on the show - dubbed ‘Pain and Glory’ - on December 13 in the Rainforest Theatre of the Wyndham Cable Beach Resort. The show will feature Meacher ‘Pain’ Major in the six-round main event against Roger Rosa, a Brazilian fighting out of Florida.

Last week, Tommy Stubbs, general manager of Buttons Formal Wear, brought in Rosa and his trainer Alberto Rios to sign his name on the dotted line of the contract to fight Major. The signing took place at Mario’s Bowling and Entertainment Centre where some of the competitors on the undercard were present.

One of those present was rookie Lester Brown, who will be taking on veteran Dencil ‘Death’ Miller, who is coming off a third round technical knockout at the hands of Richard ‘the Hammer’ Pitt on February 4 at the Kendal Isaacs Gymnasium. Miller has fallen to 1-5 since he turned pro in 2004.

“I don’t expect this fight to last long because I’m a young, hungry boxer. Death has been around for a long time and I’ve watched him, but he’s no match for me,” said Brown, who made his debut on the February 4 show with a first-round knockout over Anton Ward.

Not only will Brown take on Miller, but in Miller’s corner will be Ray Minus Jr, who is Miller’s coach.

Does it bother Brown, knowing that it was Minus Jr who gave him his introduction to the sport as an amateur with Champion Amateur Boxing Club?

“Not at all. He chose to work with Death and I’m going to beat Death to death,” Brown said. “I’m trying to get to the next level and Death is only standing in my way. I have to get rid of him early so that I can get on with my plans of getting to the next level.”

Since turning pro, Brown Jr said he’s a bit disappointed that he hasn’t had the opportunity to fight on a more frequent basis, but he admitted that he’s not going to let that get him down. He said he has his father, Lester Brown Sr, in his corner and that’s all the encouragement he needs right now.

Brown Sr said his 18-year-old is training hard daily at Champion Boxing Club and he is eager to get into the ring to face Miller.

“He’s looking good. We started training camp a few weeks ago and it’s been a vigorous, compact training camp,” the elder Brown stated. “We got a lot of training in. We did some sparring and a lot of road work with some core workouts, so we’re basically on track and ready to take on Dencil ‘Death’ Miller.

Also on the card will be a match-up between American welterweights Mike Sawyer and Alex Perez.

Yolaine Lindelauf, the European Boxing Union’s flyweight title holder and a two-time Belgium champion in kickboxing, is expected to take on an opponent from the United States. Lindelauf is currently training at Minus Jr’s club.

Additionally, the Strikers Boxing Club will be matched in a series of amateur bouts. Ronn Rodgers, coach of the Strikers and the match-maker for the show, said they are looking at the possibility of bringing in a team of amateur boxers from the Golden Gloves Boxing Club from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to face his boxers.

“We want to bring the club in so our boys can get a level check to see where they are,” Rodgers said.

“We are trying to show the future of the sport by showing our top amateur boxers. We have six of them that we have matches for, so we are looking forward to having them compete on the card.”