CARIBBEAN TODAY


mim .i .ii


SPORT


Guyana's Harris awaits boxing world title shot


BROOKLYN, New York -
Guyana's world-rated light-
welterweight boxer Vivian
Harris is now awaiting confir-
mation of an International
Boxing Federation (IBF) title
shot against champion Junior
Witter of Britain.


 Harris qualified for the
world title bout by defeating
Mexico's Juan Lazcano in an
IBF eliminator in Las Vegas
last month.
 It is expected that Harris
and Witter will meet later this
year for Witter's belt and the


Caribbean 140-pound pugilist
is waiting patiently while his
promoter negotiates the fight
arrangements.
 "I leave that up to Gary
Shaw. He's a great promoter
and I am happy to have him as
a promoter," Harris said in an


interview recently on the
BoxingTalk web site.
 "I know he (Shaw) is
going to come back to the
table with what's best for me,"
Harris added.
IMPRESSIVE
 Harris boasts a ring
record of 27 wins (18 knock-
outs) against two losses and
one draw, while Witter has 35
wins (20 knockouts) against
one loss and two draws. In a
competitive bout with
Lazcano on Feb. 10 at the
Mandalay Bay Resort in Las
Vegas, Harris secured a unani-
mous points decision victory.
 A former World Boxing
Association (WBA) light-wel-
terweight champion, Harris
was classy early in the bout
and dominated Lazcano, but
the Mexican rallied with a
strong third round and Harris
was forced to fend off sus-
tained ,,_-rL,,iiin in some of
the middle and late rounds en
route to a victory, 115-112
(twice) and 114-113.
 "I am pleased with my
performance (against Lazcano)
and ready to move on to the
next one," Harris said of his
latest win.
NEW CHAPTER
 The 28-year-old Harris
recently married his long-time
partner and hopes this new
chapter in his life will enhance
his boxing career.
 "We finally tied the knot
at a small service.. .this is the
woman I want to spend the
rest of my life with. That's
what life is, when the family is
strong, everything else is
strong," Harris said.


Harris


 In Oct. 2002, Harris beat
Cuba-born Diosbelys Hurtado
in two rounds to win the
WBA belt, becoming
Guyana's third world boxing
champion after Andrew
Lewis and Wayne Braithwaite.
He defended the crown three
times before losing to
Colombian Carlos Maussa.

Photograph and story from
CMC.



 Jamaica,

 St. Kitts youth

 soccer world

 championship

 bids fizzle

The Caribbean's hopes
 of sending a team to
 soccer's under-20 world
championships this summer
in Canada fizzled badly last
month.
 Jamaica and St. Kitts and
Nevis were both knocked out
of the finals after suffering
two losses in the last round
of qualifiers in Mexico.
 Jamaica was beaten 2-0
by both Costa Rica and the
hosts during group play. St.
Kitts and Nevis lost 2-0 to
Mexico and 3-2 to Costa Rica
to be eliminated.
 The two Caribbean teams
drew 1-1 in the final group
game to secure a point each,
but it was not good enough to
advance to the world champi-
onships. Mexico and Costa
Rica finished in the first
two places of the four-team
group and will represent the
CONCACAF region in the
tournament.
0


BEST BOYZ IN HONG KONG


Jamaican player Kavin Bryan tries to deceive his Chinese opponent with the ball during last month's final of the Lunar New Year
Cup 2007 in Hong Kong.
 Jamaica drew 0-0 with China, but the Reggae Boyz won the four-team soccer tournament by defeating the Chinese five to
four on penalty kicks after extra time.
 Australia finished third after beating the Hong Kong League XI also in a penalty shootout.
 It was the first time that Jamaica had been invited to the tournament, which also marked the debut assignment for the
Reggae Boyz' new technical director Bora Milutinovic. Earlier in the tournament Jamaica tied 1-1 with Australia, but advanced to
the final by defeating the Aussies in a penalty shootout.


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March 2007


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