– Quincy Boyce (GDF), Shaquille Wright (VBG) voted best boxers

THE Guyana Defence Force (GDF) boxing gym made a successful defence of their Champion Gym title by winning the 2018 Guyana Boxing Association (GBA)/Lennox Blackmoore National Intermediate Boxing Championship which concluded on Sunday night at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue.

The soldiers won five of the six finals they contested and had six runners-up places. After summing up the results from the three-night tournament, GBA’s Technical  Director, Terrence Poole, announced Quincy Boyce (GDF) as the `Best Elite Boxer’ of the tournament and Vergenoegen Boxing Gym’s Shaquille Wright as the Best Youth Boxer’.

Spearheading the soldiers’ charge were Clinton Clarke (Bantamweight), Boyce (Welterweight), Royden Grant (Middleweight), Astion Niles (light heavyweight) and Renaldo Niles (Heavyweight).

All five of the Army’s victors went up against their GDF counterparts.

Clarke secured a unanimous verdict against Albert Thomas; Boyce had the referee stopping his contest against Seon Murray at two minutes, 16 seconds of the first round;  Grant registered a points-decision victory against Orlando Norton; Astion Niles won by a Technical Knock-out (TKO) versus Frank McRae (2:42 of round one) and Ronaldo Niles also won via the TKO route over Shemar Ming. The fight was stopped at three minutes of the first round.

Prior to his first round TKO win against Murray on Sunday night, Boyce secured a first round TKO (1:58) win versus Republican’s Denzil Adams on Friday night and followed that victory up with a 43-second third round TKO win against his gym mate, Jamal Eastman, on Saturday night; hence he was adjudged Best Elite Boxer.

Wright, for his part, was deemed the Best Youth Boxer of the tournament for his one-minute, 32 seconds knock out win against his gym mate, Junior Hyman, in their lightweight contest. It was the only youth bout of the tournament.

In other results of the night’s card, VBG’s Christopher Moore secured a walk-over victory from Republican’s Mark Chester.

Additionally, the Republican Gym had two other boxers who were to face each other in the flyweight final, but neither of the two boxers made a ring appearance.

It was disclosed that the Republican boxers had already left the penitentiary and heading for the National Gymnasium when the prison officer in charge of them received instruction to return to base. No reason has so far been forthcoming from the prison authorities.