Under-aged Weston sent back home

LEMOORE: Trinidad and Tobago’s unbeaten teenager Iva Weston has been denied a chance to fight for the Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) tonight because she is too young.

The 17-year-old Weston was slated to challenge American Jenifer Alcorn for the WIBA lightweight title but promoters are abandoning the bout because the laws of the California Boxing Commission state that no fighter under 18 years old can be allowed to fight in a professional boxing contest. Weston, who tuned up for the big event with an easy points win over fellow Trinidadian Krystal Lessey at the Wildey Gymnasium in Barbados in September, has won all eight of her professional fights so far. The 33-year-old Alcorn is also unbeaten at 17-0 and it is unclear whether a new opponent can be found for her at such short notice. The contest was to be the leading support bout for the main event, a light middleweight fight between world-ranked Rodney Jones (31-3) and fellow American Floyd Williams (30-14).

Yesterday, matchmaker Buxo Potts said there were several outstanding issues yet to be settled concerning the aborted  promotion. Primary among them was the contract which guaranteed the Palo Seco schoolgirl at least US $8,000 for the night’s work. “We are trying to have half of the purse deposited in escrow for Iva Weston until she reaches the age of 18 which is in three weeks,” said an angry Potts yesterday. He said as far as he was aware the contract stipulates that Weston will be entitled to half of her purse if the fight cannot take place for any reason and he is counting on the California-based promoters to honour this clause. “I have been speaking with my attorneys in California headed by Lamont Jones and he is looking at all aspects of this matter.

 My feeling is that Alcorn’s handlers just wanted to get out of a sticky situation against Weston and have ducked out,” said Potts. He also complained bitterly about the treatment meted out to Weston’s party in Los Angeles charging it was “disrespectful.” “They were only allowed to overnight and put on the first available flight out of LA the next morning without even the courtesy of being told what was happening,” said Potts yesterday. He alleged that the California promoter, George Chung, sent a letter to the airline supervisor at LAX requesting the flights out for the TT party without consulting with him in Trinidad. Accompanying Weston was trainer/manager Fitzroy Richards, assistant trainer Kim Quashie, and Boxing Board official Molly Boxhill. — With reporting by ZAID MOHAMMED