… Lewis and Skeete scored wins over debutants
TRUE to his word, 24-year-old Simeon ‘Candyman’ Hardy recorded a 54-second second-round knockout victory over the 32-year-old Winston Pompey with his trademark punch called the ‘chin check’ at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall last Friday night.
The two faced each other in a junior middleweight title eliminator on the 18th edition of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) in collaboration with the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) and Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport-organised ProAm Friday Night Fights (FNF).
Also in winners’ row were Troy Lewis and Charlton Skeete who both chalked up majority-decision victories over the debuting pair of Kelsie George and Shaheid Alli respectively, while Barbados’ Miguel Antoine and his Guyanese opponent Jermaine King fought to an exciting draw.
Having witnessed an enthralling encounter between Skeete and Alli which punched off the professional segment of the card, following the four amateur bouts held earlier, the small but appreciative crowd who witnessed the main bout, announced their presence with oohs and aahs when the ‘chin check’ was delivered.
Following a cautious first round where Pompey threw jabs as he took the fight to his younger opponent who refused to back down, Hardy responded with jabs and mild uppercuts of his own, even throwing one from outside which glanced off Pompey’s chin.
The start of the second round must have surprised both Pompey and his corner crew which included national heavyweight and light heavyweight champions Kurt Bess and Kwesi Jones, as Hardy went on the attack from the sound of the bell, pushing Pompey onto the ropes.
With nowhere to go, Pompey used his jab to keep off Hardy, but when he let his guard down, “bam” the ‘chin check’ thrown from Hardy’s left hand found its mark and forced Pompey to seek comfort on the canvas.
When the referee Franklyn Brisport who was officiating in his 50th professional fight, reached the count of six, Pompey made attempts to rise, but the impact of the punch took its toll on his legs which became rubbery, forcing him to retreat to the canvas, while Hardy celebrated on the ropes with his throng of supporters.
In an invited comment with Chronicle Sport after his win, Hardy said he is looking to win a title and with president of the GBBC Peter Abdool stating at the press conference of national junior middleweight champion Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis’s willingness to step aside or step in the ring and defend same, he is ready.
“First of all, I want to thank God for bringing me through safely and successfully in this fight, along with my coach and cornermen who believed in me and instilled more confidence in me, heading into the fight.
Earlier in the round, I felt a slight strain in my left leg so I was not moving and getting the rhythm that I am accustomed to, but it was mind over matter as I had to get the job done, since I wanted the boxing public to know that I belong here” said Hardy.
He added, “I was trying to set him up with the punch in the first round, but found it difficult to land same from either hand, so I resorted to using the jab as a lead, since I knew the time would come and it certainly did in the second round, for which I had no hesitation but to deliver same accurately and just as I thought, he is weak to such a punch.”
Hardy further emphasised his need to win the title, while he called on Lewis to interpret his statement made at the press conference in a more professional manner, since he thinks the former World Boxing Association welterweight champion who was present at the venue, misinterpreted same.
“I never said I used to beat up ‘Sixhead’ when I was a teenager, but rather sparred with him in the gym where I learnt a lot as a young boxer. I also re-emphasised Mr. Abdool’s comments on his willingness to vacate the title or step into the ring. I wish he would understand that statement in a more professional manner than the way he did,” stated Hardy who took his professional record to 5-0.
In the first professional fight of the evening, Alli who was coming off of a successful amateur career, having chalked up 36 victories from his 52 fights, vindicated his decision to join the elite ranks in the fistic sport, with several combinations to the body of Skeete.
But Skeete, who had a 2-3 record before the fight returned the favour for the first 45 seconds of the second round, before Alli ended same with more combinations to the body and at times the head of Alli, bringing the crowd to their feet.
The final two rounds certainly served as a crowd-pleaser, as both boxers went at each other and while some thought Alli had recorded his first victory as a professional fighter, it was Skeete who got his third win, much to the approval of his corner.
If one were to take a closer look at Lewis’ record before he faced George, they would have seen the dismal figures of 3-11-1 and certainly would have backed George to chalk up his first win in his debut bout, but Lewis changed his plans altogether.
He said George was putting the wrong foot forward and showed why, by taking the fight to his opponent for all four rounds and even though George managed to get in a few combinations of his own along with a stinging left jab, he walked away with the win.
The Antoine versus King affair was a dull one, compared with the impressive showing the former displayed in his junior welterweight Commonwealth bout against Mark Austin, where he boxed his way to a unanimous decision victory and also into the hearts of the Guyanese back in February.
It was no surprise to some when the decision of a draw was announced, following the judges scores of 40-36 for Antoine, 37-39 for King and 38-38, even though King’s corner felt their man had won the fight.
In the amateur segment of the night’s action, Richard Williamson of Pocket Rocket Gym and Marlon Daryl of Ricola forced the referee to stop their respective bouts in the first round against Branco Gouveia (Harpy Eagles) and Kishawn Simon of Pocket Rocket Gym.
Guyana Defence Force’s Kevin David scored a 2-1 victory over Travis Fraser of Tiger Eye, while Akeem Daniels who was fighting out of the Harpy Eagles Gym, had his 2-1 decision win over Dewani Lampkin of Forgotten Youth Foundation reversed following a protest from Lampkin’s corner.
Despite the poor attendance, fans left the venue pleased with the performance of all the pugilists on show, along with the halftime entertainment given by the X-Factor Dance group and some could have been heard whispering their eagerness to witness next month’s card.