By Sean Devers
WITH the GDF Band Corps back in full swing after missing night two, pulsating Music emanating from Uprising Sounds and the largest crowd of the three nights present, the atmosphere on Sunday night at the Terrence Ali National Open Boxing Championships at the National Gymnasium was absolutely fantastic.

The final night of the card, back for the first time in two years, started nearly two hours late but when Troy Glasgow knocked out fellow GDF boxer Aubrey Headley to climax the entertaining Championships, the fans who left the venue after 01:00 hrs yesterday morning had their money’s worth.

When the dust had settled, it was the Terrence Poole-coached GDF who had successfully defended the title they had won in 2019 while FYF, led by Olympian Keevin Allicock, finished in second place.

Allicock, watched by his fiancée Hema Singh and her family, was relentless in his emphatic win over Samuel Greene of Suriname, who survived six standing eight-counts in the three rounds of fistic fury as Guyana’s best amateur pugilist was again crowned featherweight champion …and for the first time in an amateur card in the English speaking Caribbean…received cash along with his gold medal.

Allicock’s fellow Albouystown resident and FYF stable-mate, Brian Harris, achieved the rare feat of winning the triple-crown.

The 21-year-old, who landed a punishing right to the jaw of GDF’s Triston Browne to knock him out in third round of their Middleweight final, had, earlier in the year, won the National Novices and the National Intermediate titles.

Super Heavyweight champion Glasgow was adjudged the tournament’s Best Boxer after winning all three of his fights by way of knock-outs.

The beverages flowed and there was no shortage of chicken, chips and burgers sold by Guyana’s only female boxing promotor, Shoba DaSilva. The large and raucous crowd, which included Director of Sport and GBA president, Steve Ninvalle, new Deputy Director of Sport, Frankie Wilson, National Women’s singles lawn tennis champion and NSC’s member Christie Campbell, Promotor Seon Bristol and his bikini models, all had a rollicking time.

In the ‘Square Circle’ the 23-year-old Allicock, fighting in a featured bout, attacked the 27-year-old Dutchman Greene with lightning fast combinations and perfectly directed left Japs which set up big rights to the head of his man.

Greene demonstrated great courage and counter-punched, hitting Allicock with a couple of straight handed shots but the twice Pan Am bronze medallist was never hurt.
A stinging left-right combo hurt Greene and the referee conducted the first standing eight-count before Greene received three more standing eight-counts in the second round as Allicock charged in for the kill, but Greene was saved by the bell.

In the final round, the visitor was riddled with five-shot combinations but refused to go down although he was hurt on several occasions.

Retaliating with meek shots of his own, Greene received two more standing eight-counts and many times left himself open for the upper-cut.

After a couple of school boys fights in which VBG’s Glaston Winter beat RHJ’s Roopesh Balgobin and VBG’s Shaquon Marshall defeated FYF’s Kendel Demonic, the Elites division commenced.

Richard Subratee of the FYF and Komal Kissoon, who got a walk-over on Saturday night, went at each other in the first round but the South-paw Subratee fired several good right jabs into the face of Kissoon which set up some lethal overhand lefts resulting in the contest being stopped in 2 minutes 34 seconds of the opening round of their Minimumweight final.

Policeman Deron Williams beat gym-mate Kevin Isaacs in the Flyweight final before Jullius Kesney, from the Army, demonstrated faster hand speed and fitness against FYF Seon Griffith to win the Bantamweight title.

Joel Williamson from RHJ won the Lightweight title when he beat FYF’s Richard Howard while RHJ’s Jamal Eastman beat Patrick Harvey of FYF in the Junior Welterweight final.

GDF’s Colin Lewis got the better of FYF Mark Crawford who continued his bout despite nursing an elbow injury in the Welterweight final while Emmanuel Sancho beat fellow Policeman Clinton Graham in the Light Middleweight final.

In the big boys fights, the GDF drums rolled and their fans danced in the stands as the soldiers won the Light Heavyweight, Cruiserweight and the Super Heavyweight titles while Emmanuel Pompey from the Winston Pompey Boxing Gym beat VBG’s Kevin Harris in the Heavyweight final.

Desmond Amsterdam beat fellow soldier, Quincy Boyce (light heavy); Aluko Bess beat stable-mate Daren France (Cruiserweight) and Glasgow knocked out GDF’s Headley in one minute and 40 seconds (super heavyweight) to climax a successful event in which each medal winner collected their medal and a cash.