Bring it on, says Pattison

ANTON Gilmore is not bothered by the thought of his boxer, Shayvonne Pattison, fighting in the “bundus” for the first time in her boxing career.

In fact, Gilmore believes Pattison is coming to Butterworth to dethrone South African female welterweight champion Rita Mrwebi.

The duo face off for the third time since November 2010 this Saturday in a clash, which is scheduled for the Walter Sisulu University.

“We are not worried about the fact that Shayvonne is visiting the Eastern Cape for the first time.

“We are going there to fight and we are hopeful that this will turn out to be a worthwhile visit,” said Gilmore.

Having handled Mrwebi before, the 41-year-old former World Boxing Union junior-featherweight contender reckons he has figured out how to dethrone the Mthathaborn champion.

“Rita, though she is too small for the division, is a come forward fighter and a hard puncher too, something that makes her a very difficult opponent,” said Gilmore.

“It’s going to be important for Shayvonne to remain careful throughout the fight. We are going to box from the back foot as we believe that’s the only way we can make things difficult for Rita and beat her.”

On what exactly they will bring into the fight which might be different to how Pattison fought when she lost to Mrwebi last year, Gilmore said: “Shayvonne prepared herself for a six-round bout last year only to be told a week before meeting Rita that they were going to fight in 10 rounds.

“We have done everything to ensure that we go the full 10 rounds and win the fight. We are going to nullify whatever attack Rita throws.”