GBA/McDonald Promotions Patrick Ford Memorial Int’l Boxing Card…

By Sean Devers
THE large and raucous crowd created a fantastic atmosphere on Sunday night for the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA)’s McDonald Promotions Patrick Ford Memorial International Boxing card at the National Gymnasium.

When the dust settled, most of the fans left the venue just after midnight, satisfied that they had gotten their money’s worth, as Guyana once again proved that it is the cradle of boxing in the English-speaking Caribbean, dominating the card which saw pugilists from T&T, Barbados and St. Lucia in hot contention for the coveted title.

In the feature bout of the night, 30-year-old light heavyweight ‘dynamite’, Desmond Amsterdam was clinical in his destruction of Trinidadian Nickelle Joseph.

The National Sports Commission (NSC) and GBA Boxer of the Year controlled the fight as he made Joseph resort to his ultra-aggressive style of fighting instead of ‘boxing’. His opponent, who threw punches in bunches, hurt his man with powerful right hooks to head.

A left jab was followed by a right cross to the head, which staggered Joseph, causing the referee to administer a standing eight-count.

Joseph, who insisted on trading punches with Amsterdam, was again on the receiving end, resulting in his receiving another standing eight-count.

The second round saw the ‘Trini’ changing tactics and moving out of range of the soldier’s heavy artillery.

Joseph tried to counterpunch, but was hit with a right to the mid-section, resulting in the referee stopping the fight in two minutes and 58 seconds of the round, much to delight of the crowd, which included his wife.

“It feels great to fight in front of this large crowd; I changed my plan to suit the way he was fighting,” explained Amsterdam, who became the first Guyanese to win cash when he won Bronze at the Americas Boxing Confederation (AMBC) Elite Championships in Ecuador.

In the penultimate bout of the night, 23-year-old Olympian Keevin Allicock, fighting in the featherweight division, faced-off against T&T’s Anthony Joseph, whom he had previously beaten at the CAC Games.

In the first round, Allicock connected with an overhand right to bring Joseph to his knees early in the round, before a lightning- fast four-punch combination resulted in the ‘Trini’ getting his second standing eight-count.

Joseph, showing his willingness to counterpunch, hit Allicock a few times before he was floored again, but this time the referee deemed it a slip from water on the canvas.

The second round saw Allicock going toe-to-toe with the Guyanese, a 2017 Silver Medallist at the Commonwealth Youth Games, breaching Joseph’s defence, and resulting in another eight-count.

In the final round, a wicked ‘one-two’ followed by an uppercut hurt Joseph, who employed the tactic of hugging his opponent for dear life.

In the final stages of the fight, Allicock, whose fiancée was paying rapt attention, was hit a couple of times to his face as he pushed for a knockout, but Joseph refused to quit as the Guyanese won by a unanimous verdict.

“It’s good to see the fans coming out in their numbers, since that could inspire the home boxer. He (Joseph) has improved a bit, since I think he is sparring with good fighters,” Allicock said, adding that he will now focus on the South American Games and World Championships.

“I thank God, the Sports Ministry, the GBA and my sponsor. I have signed a six-month sponsorship agreement with MVP Sports for the development of my boxing career,” he said in closing.

Brian Harris, who won the triple crown at the Terrence Ali National Open, stopped Trinidadian Jaden Castellano in two minutes 57 seconds of the second round, while Jullius Kesney beat Barbados’ Sean Shepherd.

Joel Williamson, who took some good shots to his head, was beaten by Barbados’ Jeremiah Toussaint to become the only Guyanese to lose on the opening night.

In the female division, the Jackman siblings (Alisha & Abiola) both registered knockouts; Alesha fired a four-punch combination to stun ‘Trini’ Shawnelle Hamid as the fight ended in 58 seconds, while Abiola knocked out Bajan Kamara Stuart in two minutes and 50 seconds of the second round.

St. Lucian lass Nikaela Khordra got in a few solid shots, but failed to follow-up and lost to Trini Leeann Boodram.

In the local bouts, the crowd, which included World Masters Squash Champion Nicolette Fernandes, Caribbean Squash Queen Ashley Khalil, former world female Boxing champion Shondell Alfred, former boxers and politicians, watched as VBG’s Glaston Winter beat RHJ’s Roopesh Balgobin; Shaquan Marshall of VBG beat RHJ’s Curtis McDonald; Mark Crawford from FYF beat Policeman Clifton Graham; and RHJ’s Jamal Eastman defeated FYF’s Patrick Harvey.