..-FYF’s Crawford and Halley crowned best boxers

By Faizool Deo

THE Guyana Defence Force’s (GDF) reign as top gym at the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) Lennox Blackmoore National Intermediate Championships continued with a dominant performance over the weekend at the National Gymnasium.

The Army’s boxers, the largest number of competitors in the tournament, reached eight of the nine finals on Sunday night.  In six of those bouts, they battled amongst themselves.

The Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF) gym also ended the night with accolades.  Not only did they cop the second place trophy, but as in the July Novices Championships, the gym also won the best boxers award.

Again, it was Shemar Halley in the Elite Division, while in the Junior category, Mark Crawford impressed the judges.

Five gyms competed in the three-day event, which started on Friday night at the renowned venue.

FINALS

In the Youth Lightweight final, Crawford made quick work of Pocket Rocket Boxing Gym’s Jeffery Joseph, while GDF’s Quincy Abrams got the better of gym mate Azeemul Lewis in the Flyweight Division.

Rose Hall Town Jammers’ boxer, Andrey Bess, was crowned champion in the Bantamweight division after he got past GDF’s Lincoln Murray, while Halley, not without some effort, triumphed over Jerimiah Jackman in the Lightweight Division.

In the lone exhibition clash of the evening, the Jackman sisters battled. Initially Pocket Rocket’s Pauline Aaron was carded to fight Abiola Jackman, but she did not show up, so Abiola’s younger sister, Alesha, took up the challenge.

Although Alesha is known for her pugnacious hitting and is generally regarded as the better boxer, Abiola held her own and countered well.

The last four fights of the night were all GDF battles, but that did not take away from their explosive natures. Cranston McAllister was a man possessed in the opening round of the welterweight final as he punched his opponents head guard off in the opening minute.

Soon he had Neil Warden on the canvas, but only momentarily, which resulted in an eight count, as Warren went on to slip twice in the opening round, which had the small crowd riveted. By the third round, both boxers had tired and although Warden came back strong, the first round damage was too much, which resulted in a McAllister victory.

Jermain Jones showed his quality and an unstopped jab followed by a one-two hit combination in his middleweight battle against Lyndon Bennett, while Daren France, who delivered some solid combinations against Osbert Robinson in the heavyweight final, got the decision.

In the final clash, a super heavyweight bout between Kevin Hunte and A. Sheppard, it was a battle of strength from the taller and stronger Hunte against his quicker opponent.  In the end, strength won as Hunte slowed down Sheppard with solid body shots and then delivered a crushing blow, which his opponent failed to recover from at the end of the second round.