THE Guyana Defence Force (GDF) maintained its supremacy in local boxing when they emerged as Champion Gym when the curtain came down on the Guyana Boxing Association’s (GBA’s) two-day 2025 National Open Championships at the National Gymnasium in the wee hours of Monday morning.
Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF) copped the runner-up spot while Rosehall Jammers finished in the third position.
The Andrew Lewis Boxing Gym took the fourth spot, while the Police Boxing Gym, which conceded four walkovers on the opening night, finished in the cellar position with just a single point.
The army won eight of the nine finals in which they competed, ending with 16 points, while FYF finished with 14.
Imhotep Vanderstoop was adjudged the Best Schoolboy; Cort Mahase was the best Junior; Emmanuel Pompey won the best elite boxer and Abiola Jackman took home the trophy for the best female boxer.
There were 17 finals on Sunday night, while the presentation ceremony concluded at 01:32hrs Monday morning. Smalta brand Ambassador, Olympian Keevin Allicock, presented a case of Smalta to Vanderstoop, Jackman and
Travis Inverary for the ‘guts’ he showed in his bout with Desmond Amsterdam.

Allicock, who recently turned pro, also presented the boxers with trophies on behalf of Jai Signs and MVP Sports.
The small turnout included Shondell Alfred, Guyana’s second female to win a World Title at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall in 2009, when she defeated Corinne Van ryk DeGroot.
Also among the sparse crowd was Guyana’s only Olympic
Medalist, Mike Parris, who won Bronze at the 1980 games in Moscow.
Notably absent were the GDF drummers, who were a regular feature at local boxing tournaments involving the soldiers.
In the ring, most of the bouts were competitive, with the encounters in the Elite Division providing the most entertainment.
One of the most entertaining fights was the Elite 43-51Kgs between Richard Sabarmati (FYF) and GDF’s Renaldo Sutton.
The pair traded punches with the taller Sabarmati, boxing out of a south paw stance using his right jabs, while the diminutive Sutton showed great improvement with his technical skill.
Sutton kept moving forward with good shots to Sabarmati’s body and head in an entertaining opening round.
Both boxers went toe to toe, with punches and counter punches, with Sabarmati being the ‘boxer’ and Sutton the fighter.
The final round saw plenty of holding as the pair began to tire, but the GDF pugilist had done enough to take the fight.
Another action-packed fight was the Elite 75Kgs battle between experienced soldier Desmond Amsterdam and the talented and gutsy Travis Inverary.
Inverery, the smaller of the two boxers, made Amsterdam, who began in attacking mode, miss most of his big shots with excellent evasive tactics and cut Amsterdam just above his left eye with a straight right in the hectic opening round.
In a gruelling fight, Amsterdam stepped up the intensity with a flurry of cruel three-punch combinations that hurt Inverery.
But Inverary, from the Andrew ‘Six Head’ Lewis Boxing Gym (ALG) in Albouystown, counterpunched, aiming right hooks to Amsterdam’s head to reopen the cut, resulting in the referee halting the fast-paced duel for the powerful Amsterdam to have his injury checked by the ringside doctor.

In the third stanza, there were shots galore from ultra- aggressive Amsterdam as he hammered away with crunching body shots and combinations to the head, but Inverary weathered the storm and refused to go down, demonstrating plenty of
intestinal fortitude.
When the final bell sounded, the small gathering rose to its feet with lusty applause for both boxers with Amsterdam, who dominated the contest, being declared the winner.
In the 63-67 Kgs, GDF’s Colin Lewis, in a clinical exhibition of classy glove work and excellent use of the ring, defeated RHJ’s Jamal Eastman, who missed most of his shots.
In a slug fest among the ‘big boys’ GDF’s Orlando Norton inflicted a vicious pounding on Carsol Goodchild in the 75-80Kgs, but survived the three rounds. Norton took championship honours.
GDF’s Akeio Best defeated Aqueney Harvey in the 86Kg
division. Harvey was the only boxer from the Police Boxing Gym to qualify for a final.
Heavyweight Emmanuel Pompey (FYF) beat GDF’s Zedan
Wray won in the 92Kgs division, while female Heavyweight Abiola Jackman beat her much smaller sister Alesha to take Best female boxer award.
In the schoolboys’ finals ALG’s Imhotep Vanderstoop beat Josh Persaud fighting out of the New Amsterdam Boxing Gym (NABG) in Guyana’s first town when the referee stopped the contest in the third round.
Itavius Vanderstoop beat Isai Chester in the other schoolboys contest while NABG’s Mahase beat Isiah Nurse in the Junior division.
In the Youth division Curtis McDonald beat Ken Harvey in an all
ALG affair.
In the Elite 54Kg Julius Kesney beat his GDF stable mate
Lincon Murray; Septon Barton defeated Seon Griffth in an all FYF
match up; Jamal Williamson (RHJ) beat FYF’s Patrick Harvey, while Mark Crawford lost to his FYF Gym mate Shaquian James.
GDF’s Wanye July beat Aqueney Harvey in the 86-92 weight class.