Singh, Allicock and Rhon Smith victorious on opening night
… ‘Biggy’ Small makes debut appearance

NANDKUMAR ‘Real Coolie Bully’ Singh, Keeve Allicock and Rhon Smith were all impressive in their opening night wins, when action in this year’s Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) Open Championships punched off at California Square, East Ruimveldt centre last Friday night.

Nandkumar Singh, who was making a return to the ring after a long layoff for reasons unknown and was representing the Republican Gym, looked rusty but managed to eke out a split decision victory over a game Rupert Gillis of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) in a 60kg contest.
Keeve Allicock displayed great hand-speed and showmanship with his legs to rebound from a second-round knockdown and chalk up a split decision win over Enoch John of the GDF, while Rhon Smith, a former member of the GDF unit, fought out of the Forgotten Youth Foundation Gym (FYF) and came away with a split decision win over Clifton Graham of Republican Gym.
The night’s action began with Shequancy Wright of Essequibo getting past his gym mate Devon Walcott in a 60-64lb contest, followed by Leon Moore of Harpy Eagles (HE) defeating Jakeel Cadogan also of Harpy Eagles in a 65-69lb contest, while Isaiah Moore (HE) got past Kevon Mulling (HE) in the 80-84lb class.
Kevin Allicock (HE) then lost to Shaquille Wright of Essequibo in their 100-104lb contest, even as Steve DePrado won via walkover after Christopher Smith failed to show up for their 110-114lb clash. Stefan Smith rebounded from a knockdown in the second round to claim a unanimous decision win over Akiel Mounter.
Following a break in proceedings, Singh entered the square jungle to do battle with Gillis and many felt that, based on Singh’s exploits in the past, Gillis had bitten off more than he can chew, but the pugilist who was fighting out of the GDF Gym, with GABA Technical Director Terrence Poole in his corner, proved otherwise.
He threw down the gauntlet to Singh from early in the first stanza and showed the spectators he was not afraid of his more illustrious opponent, jabbing and punching at will, keeping Singh on the defensive even though he showed signs of tiring late in the first round.
In the second stanza, a wild right from nowhere sent Singh to the canvas, but he quickly got up, took the eight-count that was administered by the referee then unleashed several punches to the body and head of Gillis during the remaining rounds on his way to the win.
After such a humdinger, Keeve Allicock took the ring to face John and certainly, if the elder Allicock sticks to the fistic sport and remains disciplined, Guyana would have another world champion, since his display last Friday night was worthy of world championship material before long.
His hand speed was so rapid that John got hit before he knew what was happening on more than one occasion, with Keeve Allicock dishing out an Andrew ‘Six Head’ Lewis-like jab and hook to the face and chin of his man in one motion, doing so repeatedly during the first round.
A bit of complacency saw John land one of his own during the second round, sending his man to the canvas, but with the same speed he went down, Keeve Allicock was up, took the count and made John pay for such a shot, taking the nod on all three judges’ card.
John also received of an eight-count, as Keeve Allicock, who lost two points for excessive holding, went in search of those points, handing John another eight-count in the final stanza before claiming the win.
If Clifton Graham had listened attentively to the words of his coach Wincell Thomas, he would have been the victorious pugilist at the end of his 69kg contest with Rhon Smith, but he refused to adhere to instructions, chose to relax and allow the more seasoned Smith to come to him – big mistake.
There is an old saying in the fistic sport, ‘hard cuff don’t have manners’ and certainly Graham must have experienced such, for when he had Smith in a corner to put away, the bombs which were seen from a distance, landed perfectly and shook him up, even from a tired-looking Smith, who waltzed away with the victory via split decision.
The final bout of the night was a one sided affair from the opening bell and only lasted 1min: 30 secs as Glenroy Smith used several combinations to the body and head of Linden Daniels, forcing the referee to stop the contest in the first stanza.
The action continued last night at the same venue, where USA-based Guyanese Quincy ‘Biggy’ Small, the younger brother of Wayne ‘Big Truck’ Brathwaite was set to make his debut on local soil in the super heavyweight division, while the curtain comes down on the championships tonight.

(By Calvin Roberts)