Big fight night set for Dec 4

National middleweight champion Ricardo 'The Surgeon' Smith and Caribbean Boxing Council middleweight champion Sakima Mullings will be among six of the island's best boxers who will be on show at 'Boxing on the Waterfront II' set for Pier 1 in Montego Bay on Sunday, December 4.

Sponsored in the main by Rumbar Rum and Big Jo, the card will see Mullings facing Ian Smith over six rounds and Tsetsi Davis taking on Glenroy 'Bumpy' Beckford over eight rounds in the build-up to the man event: the clash between Ricardo Smith, who became the national champion in May this year when he won the Contender series, and Donovan Campbell, also over eight rounds. A yet to be determined number of amateur fights are also scheduled for the evening's activities, which are set to get under way at 7 o'clock.

At the launch of the fight card at the offices of the Sports Development Foundation (SDF) yesterday, Robin Russell of the promoters Robin and Tango Promotions promised to put on a great event.

"We're going to bring a level of professionalism to the event, proper lighting, proper sound, security. We have the best boxers in the island and we're going to have the best promotion. We're working with Stages Promotions, they know how to promote, and I have worked with Sumfest over the years, so I know how to plan and produce an event. So, we've put three great elements together to produce a great event," he said.

Russell suggested that the boxers are promising to raise their respective games for the occasion.

"There is going to be a surprise. I don't what to say who or what it is, but I have been told that the boxers are going to surprise. The boxers have promised to come out and do their best," he said.

Contender champion Smith, who has been relatively inactive since he won the crown in May, says he has been working hard and is ready to fight come December 4. Having not fought competitively for more than six months, he says he is not very worried about ring rust. "Rust is not really a must. I've been training and once you have been training you're keeping your edge and that's a good thing," he said. "I've been working with Sub-Zero, one of my gym mates soon to go pro. I've also been working with a lot more amateurs, schooling them and training hard. So we're down there at Hard Knocks training pretty hard, so come fight here everything is going to show their talent and do their thing."

For his part, Mullings last fought on September 24 when he beat Lloyd Smith in Stony Hill. His preparation for this fight against Ian Smith has not been the best, he said. He blamed the negotiations to get him into the December 4 fight card. "I would have liked to have had more sparring and fine-tuning things in the ring, but the communication in the negotiation for this fight broke down so I was on, I was off and now I am on again, so it wasn't the best training camp but I was able to get work done that I needed to get done. I'm in good shape; I'm ready physically, mentally. I am ready to fight," he says.

Jamaica Boxing Board President Stephen Jones said Boxing on the Waterfront II further reflects what exciting times are in store for the sport locally. "It is the culmination of what has been an exciting year, and to have six great ambassadors of the sport in Jamaica on the same card on the same night is good for the west, good especially for Montego Bay, because they have been asking for the middleweight champion Rikardo Smith to come down there and fight, so we're looking forward to it," he said.