“Gonzales has to overcome some personal demons”-Hussain

By Clifton Ross

After suffering an upset defeat in Saturday night’s fight, Manager of Dexter “The Cobra” Gonzales; Aleem Hussain said his boxer needs to fight his mental demons so he can get back to being the great boxer he was destined to be.
Gonzales shocked many when he failed to seize the advantage over the less-experienced Filipe Lares, suffering a defeat to the Venezuelan by virtue of a split

decision. In the end, many were surprised and some angered by the timid approach of the boxer who unfortunately ended the career of one of Guyana’s finest Clive Atwell.
When contacted after the fight on Sunday, “Sangre Malo” Promoter and Cobra’s manager Hussain to this Guyana Times Sport that he believes his fighter is mentally distracted and is afraid to unleash his true punching ability which has earned him titles and an upcoming international title shot in the Bahamas.
“Dexter has to overcome some personal demons and once he gets his mind wrapped around the fact that he can let his hands go and not hurt somebody in the ring, he can become the great fighter we all know”, said Hussain.
The promoter further said that ever since the unfortunate incident his boxer has been a bit hung up about his approach and has since tempered his aggression. The manager said that plans are however in place to work with the boxer in order to help readjust his mentality.
“We are working with him; they are plans to bring his mind back to where it needs to be because he’s a great fighter and a great talent but he needs to work on his head to understand that he’s not hurting someone when you hit them hard.
Despite not making excuses for his fighter, Hussain attributed some of Gonzales’ flaws in the match to his past fight versus Atwell, who was present at ringside. Cobra was the one responsible for ending the career of Atwell with a fatal punch,

thus effectively ending the star’s in-ring career.
“Clive Atwell was sitting ringside and I think every time Dexter looked at him it brought back memories that he was the one who put Atwell in that position, I think it took a toll on him”.
He continued, “It was an emotional toll, he didn’t lose the fight because he wanted to I think when he looked ringside and saw a career of a fellow boxer’s career who he ended, knowing that you ended that man’s career with a punch, it would cause to not want to throw a punch like that again”. He ended.
Hussain in closing applauded Lares for his in-ring performance and his hunger which saw him beat one of the country and Caribbean’s top fighters.