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Top 5 Best Guyanese Boxers

The Best Boxers from Guyana:

Guyana may not be historically recognized as one of the best boxing nations across the globe, but nevertheless, there has long been high quality fighters to come from the South American country. Take a look at the 5 best Guyanese fighters in the history of the game.

  1. Joe Walcott (Career: 1890-1911): “The Barbados Demon” was actually born in Guyana and was truly one of a kind. Standing only 5’1,” he defeated lightweights and heavyweights alike, though he usually weighed no more than in the 140’s. Among those he beat were Welterweight Champion Billy Smith, light heavyweight champion George Gardner, and a KO of heavyweight contender Joe Choynsky. Yes, a 5’1” fighter beat a heavyweight contender. Won Welterweight Title against Rube Ferns. Fought draws with legendary greats Philadelphia Jack O’Brien, Sam Langford, and Joe Gans.
  2. Terrence Alli (Career: 1979-1997): Exciting and successful longtime contender was a TV staple of the action-packed 80’s. Sprinting from his corner to engage his foes was no gimmick, as the gutsy Alli gave off the vibe that he really loved to fight that much. Beat a mind-numbing amount of contenders, including Melvin Paul, John Senegal, Miguel Santana (twice), Rodney Moore, Darryll Tyson, Jerry Page, Juan Soberanes, Santos Cardona, John Meekins, Charles Murray, and Primo Ramos.
    3. Be sure to check out the rest of our Boxing: The Best of a Nation series for more top 5 and 10 lists of the best boxers from different countries and locales.
  3. Vivian Harris (Career: 1997-present): His recent uneven work and fact that he’s become a trialhorse in his twilight years perhaps detracts from his best years, where Harris was a handful. Defeated future champion Gary St. Clair and contenders Golden Johnson and Michael Clark. Won WBA belt with a 2nd-round stoppage of Diosbelys Hurtado and defended against 27-0 Souleymane M’baye and twice against useful European contender Oktay Urkal. Lost in a shocker to Carlos Maussa, before beating good contenders in Stevie Johnston and Juan Lazcano.
  4. Wayne Braithwaite (Career: 1997-2010): At one time, “The Big Truck” was a top cruiserweight titlist, claiming wins over top campaigners like Dale Brown, Louis Azille, and Vincenzo Cantatore, among others. Losses to Jean-Marc Mormeck and Guillermo Jones brought his momentum to a halt, but still managed to notch a win over current top cruiserweight Yoan Pablo Hernandez in his last big win.
  5. Andrew Lewis (Career: 1993-2008): Prodigious puncher knocked out Terrence Alli in his 9th fight and ill-fated fringe contender Stephan Johnson in his next outing. “Six Heads” also beat Teddy Reid, before claiming the WBA Welterweight title against James Page. Two defenses later, he was relieved of his belt by Ricardo Mayorga and a knockout loss to Antonio Margarito ended his run as a top welterweight.

As you can see, from the turn of the 20th century through to today, Guyana has produced top flight fighters and champions. Hopefully you enjoyed our list of the best boxers from Guyana in the history of the sport, if you care to debate, question or argue, then feel free to chime in with a comment below.