Lawrence drops Edwards in round eight

The main bout saw homeboy Lawrence dominating the early rounds. He was in full control by the fourth round and tactically executed his punches and in flicted damage on his rival from Cocorite. The contest lasted two minutes and 58 seconds into the eighth round, when the crowd erupted to Lawrence landing a right hook flush on Lawrence’s jaw which was swiftly followed by left uppercut as he stunned his already wounded opponent who he dubbed a “pensioner” prior to the fight due to him being 37 years old.

Speaking to Newsday after claiming the title, Lawrence, 31, declared, “I cannot explain the joy I feel in my heart to get this victory and make my home town proud. I would first like to thank God for making this possible and my family for supporting me on this journey.” Lawrence’s manager Boxu Potts commented on the victory which came two rounds longer than he predicted.

“Sport is about dedication. It is about nutrition along with the technical, tactical, physical, mental and emotional discipline it takes to prevail, and tonight I am happy because Sheldon did just that,” he said.

He added: “However, we know there is a lot of work to be done both in the gym and on the drawing board to develop his techniques as he is a young fighter on the circuit.” The boxing promoter said he has already mapped out a strategic course for the boxer to continue his career which now stands at nine wins and one defeat.

The night featured the WBC Amateur and Youth programme on the undercard where all fights had a total of three rounds each.

The highly anticipated female bout between Venezuelan compatriots, Jetzaly Cedeno and Josmary Gomez lived up to its expectations as both fighters left it all in the ring. The 17-year-old Cedeno extended her record to 61 wins after 73 matches with a unanimous decision 40-36, 40- 36, 40-37.

Other WBC Boxing Results:
1. Eldric Sella (Ven) beat Reynold Belcon (TT ) (knockout 2:34 round one)
2. Armando Suarez (Ven) draw Nicholas Francis (TT )
3. Ronald Ron Rimarez (Ven) beat Sean Anthony Joseph (TT ) (Unanimous decision 29-27, 29-26, 29-27)
4 Nickell Joseph (TT ) beat Eduardo Medina (Ven) (Unanimous Decision 30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
5 Ja’ Paul Cooper (TT ) beat Lance Garcia (TT ) (Unanimous Decision 30-26, 30-26, 30-26)