GDF retain championship honours on final night
… ‘Biggy’ pops Champagne bubble

HAVING set out to retain their championship honours when the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) hosted its National Open Championships at California Square, East Ruimveldt, the Terrence Poole-coached Guyana Defence Force (GDF) gym did just that when the curtain came down on the Championships last Sunday night.

Ten fights whetted the appetite of the boxing fans who braved the overcast conditions early in the evening to witness the action, where they saw Imran ‘Magic’ Khan retain his welterweight crown with a classy display over Nandkumar ‘Real Coolie Bully’ Singh.
Also victorious on the night was Glenroy Smith who dethroned Eon Bancroft in the 69kg division, while Aquincy Wright, Dennis Thomas, Desmond Amsterdam and Quincy ‘Biggy’ Small were all victorious, with Small bursting John Champagne’s bubbles in the first round.
The night’s action which was witnessed by close to 1 500 patrons saw Tyrone Lashley, Kevin Allicock and Dellon Charles chalk up unanimous points-decision wins over Richard Sabatree, Dwayne Kendall and Stefan Andrews respectively.
Khan, who looked rusty in the previous night’s win over Stefan Julian, shrugged off the rust, used some CRC and dished out a boxing lesson to Singh in a contest that was deemed the fight of the championships by those who witnessed all three nights of action.
He boxed and moved like ‘Sugar Ray’ Leonard and jabbed like Muhammad Ali, hitting Singh at will, one time rocking the ‘Real Coolie Bully’ with several combinations to the body and head in the second stanza – punches he withstood to survive and make it through.
When the decision was announced, loud cheers erupted around the venue while Singh embraced Khan who retained his title in the process, in a congratulatory hug, a testament of the true sportsmanship not only encouraged by AIBA, but always displayed by Singh.
Henry and Keeve Allicock met in the next bout, a 64kg clash and, like Khan and Singh, gave the crowd a treat with their toe-to-toe slugfest during the first two rounds, before a tired-looking Allicock was penalised thrice for excessive holding in the third stanza.
According to AIBA rules which the GABA always follows to the last exclamation mark in their championships, the elder Allicock made himself eligible for disqualification after the third warning, which the referee duly executed, much to the dismay of the fans, some of whom were unaware of the reason for the premature end.
If Bancroft needs to blame anyone for his loss, he needs only to take a look in the mirror, as he never listened to the instructions given to him by his corner men, some of which this reporter was privy to hear, but chose to engage Smith in a slugfest.
Same was done by Rhon Smith the previous night when he faced Glenroy Smith and the punches which were thrown to the body of Rhon Smith and missed, did not miss the mid-section or head of Bancroft, who saw Glenroy Smith take his 69kg title with a unanimous decision victory.
Thomas, who was later declared Best Senior Boxer, was too good and strong for Steven Chan who suffered a first-round TKO at 2 mins 30 secs, while Mark ‘Violence’ Pierre was tamed by Amsterdam, his GDF gym mate, who recorded a third-round TKO victory with the fight being stopped at 2 mins 58secs.
Pierre needs to thank the implementation of the Cavilon Cream by AIBA, as it saved his face from being badly battered and bruised from the crisp jabs thrown by Amsterdam, which were used as a lead for the eventual victor’s right hooks and combinations, punches that led to referee Mark Drakes calling off proceedings in the final round, with Pierre winded and beaten.
Dellon Gordon has a heart of a tiger, but Trevor King’s heart is that of a lion and the latter proved his supremacy with a stunning first-round TKO win at 2 mins 33secs, leaving Gordon in a crumpled heap on the wet canvas, with blood oozing like a burst pipe from his right eyebrow.
The final fight of the night saw a bigger ‘Biggy’ Small take on a medium-sized Champagne, who was given the go-ahead to compete despite the presence of an open abscess on the back of his head and after 2 mins 7 secs, the fight was called off, handing Small an easy victory without breaking a sweat.
While GDF claimed the top gym and Thomas the Best Senior Boxer, Rose Hall Jammers Jamal Eastman was named Best Junior Boxer, with Republican finishing as runners-up to GDF.

(By Calvin Roberts)