‘The Lion’ Gilkes  rules supreme over King
WHEN ring announcer Basil Bradshaw introduced the two pugilists for the main bout in the third stanza of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC)/ Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS) ProAm Fights, a deafening roar erupted at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on  Saturday night.
When the judge’s decision was announced, informing those in attendance of local repeated Prodigal Son of boxing Leon ‘The Lion’ Gilkes’ majority decision victory over Theophilus ‘Blue’ King, another deafening roar touched the roof of the venue.
From the first bell of the main bout to the final one, boxing fans who flocked the venue including Director of Sports in the National Sports Commission (NSC) Neil Kumar, were treated to a very competitive battle as King looked for his predicted second round knockout while Gilkes avoided same.
Punches were traded by both pugilists who felt each other out in the first round, with King backing his man to the ropes on several occasions but according to Gilkes, his punches lacked the sting to achieve the knockout he was looking for.
Round two belonged to Gilkes who stamped his authority over the much taller King using the ring to his advantage and hitting him at will, after evading most of his punches in what was supposed to be the final round of the bout, bringing the crowd to its feet.
‘The Lion’ continued to roar in the squared circle in the third round which like the first round, saw a series of punches being thrown by both boxers, with King who was bleeding through his nose, gaining the upper hand until a low blow from him in the final minute of the round, gave Gilkes a reprieve.
Chants of ‘Blue’ went up from one side of the venue while on that same side but the opposite to the supporters of King, chants of Gilkes erupted during the final round as both boxers went at each other in a toe to toe combat moving from one point to another in the ring.
King backed Gilkes in a neutral corner and unleashed a few combinations, but it was of no effect to the eventual winner, who punched his way out of trouble with a few combinations of his own, followed by the occasional uppercuts from both hands which found its target easily.
In the end, ‘The Lion’ carried his wins to five as he kept his word in refusing to let King knock him down and make him his pet, while King left the venue disturbed at the decision of the judges.
In the first bout on the professional side of things, a ring rusty Michael De Mattos recorded a majority decision over Laurex Benn in a bout that saw the victor being content to hold onto his opponent and was even warned by referee Frank Brisport about same.
Shouts of ‘loose the man’ went up from the crowd, every time Benn who carried the fight to the taller De Mattos, went inside to have his way with his ring rusty opponent, whose jab was on leave for this bout.
De Mattos bluffed his punches which did not deter a hungry looking Benn who stamped his authority with a few uppercuts he was able to get in while on the inside, before De Mattos who was looking for one big punch went into his holding spree.
The sound of a majority decision in favor of De Mattos was met with loud boos from the crowd, who wondered if the judges were all buddies of the Stevie Wonder and the late Ray Charles, or former calypsonian Smokey.
The lone female bout in the professional category was well received as Linden’s Sharon Ward missed out on the Town Day activities taking place in the mining town, to first discipline then walked away with a unanimous decision over Pamela London.
London was looking for that opportunity to land a big punch which would have probably spent doom for Ward, but in order to do so she had to avoid the telling jab of her opponent which was used to effect, as Ward did not only out jabbed her opponent, but used the ring well to avoid her.
The one time London had her opponent on the ropes was in round two, but even in such a vulnerable position, Ward refused to stand idly by and do nothing as she first avoided London’s punches which were thrown from way outside and failed to find its target, while at the same time jabbed and dished out punches of her own.
It was no surprise when she was announced the winner, with some fans standing to their feet and applauding both pugilists after the bout and decision was announced.
Prior to the King/Gilkes matchup, Harpy Eagles boxing gym coach James Walcott who entered the ring to a loud applause, faced Kwesi Jones in a one sided affair, which the latter won by a unanimous decision, but not before he was tasked with the job of staving off some stinging jabs from Walcott.
In the four of five amateur bouts, Bauxite Bombers’ Akeem Alexander scored a 3-0 victory over Republican’s Damion Ross whose teammate Nandkumar Singh defeated Guyana Defence Force’s Claymont Gibson by the same result.
Harpy Eagles’ Romeo Norville made Walcott a happy man before he fought Jones, when he recorded a 3-0 victory over Trelon Munroe of Republican gym while in the lone female contest, Natasha Ashby was a clear winner over Amanda Norville also by the 3-0 margin.
The added amateur bout featuring Ray Sandiford and Stephon Gouveia did not materialise for reasons unknown, but what both the GBBC and the GABA can take pride in, was the vast support they received not only from corporate Guyana, but boxing fans and enthusiasts as well, with some publicly stating they can hardly wait for this month’s Friday Night Fights.