By Sean Devers
Five Guyanese, including boxer Clive Atwell, will be inducted during the Action Martial Arts Magazine’s ultimate destination three-day mega convention & Hall-of-Honors at the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, New Jersey on Saturday, January 28th, 2023.

Guyanese Martial Artists ‘Max’ Massiah (9th Dan Black Belt, Founder of the rapidly growing World-recognised MAXIDO Adult Self-Defense System) and MAXIDO Black Belt Students; former Magistrate and GDF Lieutenant Colonel, Leslie Sobers; the lone and eldest female Black Belt, 64-year-old Claudette Andrews; Tour-Guide and Businessman Christopher Chin and former world-rated, multi-division boxing champion and coach, Clive Atwell, will all become inductees of the twenty-second Hall-of-Honour Event (also known as the Academy Awards of Martial Arts).

Although Atwell is a boxer and not a martial artist, the event also honours boxers who have accomplished valuable achievements in “combat” activities.

Atwell survived a life-changing, near-death experience on October 24, 2015.

Atwell, a former Caribbean Featherweight and WBC–CABOFE Super Lightweight Champion, was in a title fight against T&T-based Dexter Gonzalves at the Giftland in October 2015. Fighting for the FECARBOX World Boxing Council’s (WBC) lightweight title, Atwell fainted and was immediately hospitalized.

He was diagnosed with Subdural Hematomas Hemorrhage. An emergency surgery was done to decompress the swelling which was jamming on his central nervous system.

Atwell later went to the US for corrective cranial surgery, effectively ending his boxing career.

Atwell won Gold at the Caribbean Amateur Boxing Association championships in Trinidad in 2006 and Bronze at the 2007 Pan American Games in the Bantamweight category.

In his debut professional fight on 29th January, 2010, he defeated Carlton Skeete. Atwell challenged for his first world title on May 24, 2014 against WBC Featherweight champion, Jhonny González, but lost by tenth-round technical decision.

He then fought Kye McKenzie for the Interim PABA super featherweight title in Melbourne, Australia.

His next win was against Jamaican Sakima Mullings on 21 February 2015, for the super lightweight CABOFE WBC title.

Also a certified Plumber and Pastor, Atwell is presently in Australia; his Award will be sent to Guyana and collected by his son, Alex.

Atwell joins former Heavyweight Boxing Champions Tim “Terrible” Witherspoon, Ray “Merciless” Mercer, and both Floyd Mayweather Snr & Jnr, who have been previously inducted.

Soke (Teacher of Teachers) Max Massiah, a three-time inductee, nominated the others, whose nominations were accepted and approved by the Board and its President and host, Sifu Alan Goldberg, aka the ‘Godfather of Martial Arts’.

The Annual event, which commenced in 2000, attracts the Creme-de-la-creme of World-renowned Legends, accomplished “fistic” experts, movie-stars, and sports personalities in the combat arena such as Michael Jai White, Cynthia Rothrock, Bill ‘Superfoot’ Wallace, Don “Dragon” Wilson, Benny ‘the Jet’ Urquidez, Fred Williamson, Cary ‘Mortal Kombat’ Hiroyuki Tagawa, Eric Lee, Jason Lau, Lady Sensei Chisom Jerry, among many other celebrity personalities.

Soke Max (as he is referred to by his students, having been ordained that title/rank by the SUPREME SOKESHIP COUNCIL of Texas, USA), has 50 years of study and practice in Martial Arts under his Belt.

He has taught over 300 students Worldwide (Guyana, USA, Ghana, & Cuba), including members of Guyana’s Joint Services (GDF & GPF) since the establishment of the MAXIDO system in the USA, 2017.

MAXIDO is known for its brutally effective defensive responses of strictly LIMB DISLOCATION & BONE BREAKAGE in under four seconds.

It caters specifically for the vulnerable such as Business owners, professionals, the elderly and females.

Sobers, Andrews, and Chin are all founding members of MAXIDO in Guyana, having begun training in February of 2018, on a rigorous schedule of two-hour sessions, three days weekly.

They began at the beginners ‘White Belt’ and went through seven levels of training and testing before earning their Black Belts under the watchful eyes of Examiners, Massiah, International Examiner, 14-time International & World Champion, 10th Dan Black Belt, Professor Christopher Francis, and former US Federal Government officer, Ms Freddie Batchelor.

Massiah also played an instrumental role in the training of Atwell during his career and was his motivator.
It is the first time in the history of Guyana that five of its Nationals will be honoured with the decorated title of HALL-OF-HONOR inductees. (Soke Max can be contacted on (592) 602 1733)’