Andre Lambe On Camp, Paklos Fight And More
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Boxer Andre Lambe has spent the past few months training in Orlando, Florida, at various professional gyms to prepare for his fight against American Kenny Paklos at The Shed in Dockyard on Saturday [May 25].
Lambe was due to face the undefeated Paklos in March; however, the fight was postponed, with the Bermudian taking the opportunity to immerse himself in his sport without any on-island distractions.
The southpaw stayed in the family home of rising star Jeovanny Estella, whose father Johnny will join coach Varo Pelon Andrade in Lambe’s corner for his six-round welterweight bout against Paklos, who has won all three of his paid contests.
“Johnny was known to Mr Rego [Allan ‘Forty’ Rego, Lambe's previous coach, who died in 2018], so there’s been a connection for a while,” Lambe told Bernews.
“Mr Rego was a big inspiration to Johnny and always wanted to bring him to the island. It’s his first visit to Bermuda and it’s a privilege to have him in my corner.”
Having not fought since defeating Mexican Sergio García Herrera by majority decision in Dockyard in October last year, Lambe said he is “itching” to return to the ring and “bring boxing back to Bermuda.”
During his extended stay in Orlando, Lambe trained at the Downtown Orlando Boxing Gym and Legacy Fitness and Boxing, sparring top undefeated prospects such as Estella [14-0-0] and Cuban Yan Marcos [10-0-0].
“I needed the challenge of training and sparring with top pros, who are also trying to make it,” Lambe said.
“I had to be on my toes every time I stepped in the gym.
“It was beneficial to have an overseas training camp – I didn’t have to worry about going to work.
“Sometimes, I was training three or four times a day. I was waking up, training, going to sleep, training – rinse and repeat!”
Aside from sparring several fighters from the Team Combat League in which boxers compete as teams rather than individuals, Lambe also received advice from Jorge Linares, a retired three-weight world champion.
“He reviewed some of my sparring sessions and gave me tips during training,” Lambe said. “I was soaking in what he was telling me.”
Although the 28-year-old has studied video clips of Paklos, he said he prefers to prepare for the unexpected and enter the ring without any preconceived notions of an opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.
“I always train for the best version of my opponent,” he added.
“I never prepare for what they’re likely to do because sometimes a fighter comes with a different strategy than what you expect.”
Lambe is sponsored by Island Construction/ICS Tires, Arnold’s Family Market, Conyers Imports and BGA.
