Weston fights on ESPN tonight

LOCAL boxing fans will have the opportunity to see Trinidad and Tobago’s female welterweight champion Iva Weston in action tonight. Weston, the North American Boxing Council champion fights Mary-Joe Sanders in a ten-round contest in Detroit, Michigan, USA for the World Boxing Council (WBC) championship. The fight will be shown “live” on cable television channel ESPN from 9 pm. Yesterday, international match-maker Buxo Potts, who travelled with Weston to the USA, said the Siparia lass weighed in two pounds overweight yesterday morning but by evening she was down to 147 pounds.

Potts, in a long distance telephone conversation said he expected Weston to give a good showing and her success would depend on how she handles the first four rounds. “Sanders has a kickboxing background so we know that she is not a strong puncher. Iva must go in and exploit her weaknesses. She has a good chance of winning the bout within the distance,” said Potts. He said the weather in Detroit was very cold and the city is gripped by SuperBowl Fever in anticipation of the American football final between the Seattle Sea Hawks and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday.

“We just want to get this fight over with and return home with the belt,” said Potts. Weston is accompanied by trainer Ulric Johnson, a former world rated featherweight and super-featherweight contender. Her regular trainer Fitzroy Richards was involved in a vehicular acccident last week and is nursing a broken leg and could not travel with his fighter.