Antoine after zonal title

THE BARBADOS flag will not only be flying in regional cricket but also in the boxing ring in Guyana, tonight.
Unbeaten Miguel “Hands of Stone” Antoine will fight undefeated Guyanese Mark Austin in a ten-round feature bout for the Commonwealth Zonal super lightweight title at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in Georgetown.
Antoine, 23, who has nine knockouts in his 13 professional bouts, told WEEKENDSPORT that he will be going after another knockout against the local pugilist who has won his six pro fights.
“It is not going to last the distance. Even though he is undefeated and should be a good fighter, I will do what I’ve done with all my other opponents. 
“Someone has to go down and it is not going to be me,” a confident Antoine said.
“All the hard work I’ve been doing in training, will show when I step in the ring. I don’t want it to go past five rounds.” 
Antoine said he is using bouts such as these as a precursor toward regaining his World Boxing Council CABOFE title which he was stripped of last year for not making a compulsory title defence as required.
“I’m hungry to get back that belt, which I understand a Mexican now holds. I really want to fight him,” Antoine said.
Antoine’s trainer and manager Sam Layne, who will be at ring side, said Antoine was ready to fight in Guyana again after whipping Sean Pile two months ago.
“He is in good shape. This is his fight coming back after a lay-off and he looks even better than before and is punching much harder,” Layne said.
But he again lamented the lack of support back home for professional boxing.
“We are not getting the support to stage bouts. That’s why I am taking a tremendous chance in going into our opponents’ backyard and hope to beat them,” he said.
“We can’t even get one of the rings that were left from the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships to train.”
The Barbados-based lightweight Gardel Roberts will be returning to his native country to fight compatriot Rudolph Fraser over four rounds in one of the night’s five bouts.
Antoine also urged the cricketers and Barbadians who came to Guyana either for cricket or the Mashramani Festival to come and support him.