GUYANA’S Emmanuel Pompey has guaranteed himself at least a bronze medal at the South American Games in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after punching his way into the semi-finals of the men’s 90kg boxing division with a unanimous-decision victory over Bolivia’s Jimmy Nunez.
Pompey produced a composed and determined performance in his quarter-final clash, doing enough across the scheduled rounds to convince all five judges that he deserved to have his hand raised at the final bell.
The victory means the Guyanese is now just one win away from a place in the gold-medal bout, while, regardless of what happens in the semi-finals, he is assured of returning home with a medal.
While Pompey advanced, however, it was a difficult outing for the other members of Guyana’s boxing contingent, with both Shakquain James and Akeelah Vancooten suffering unanimous-decision defeats in their respective bouts.
James, competing in the men’s 70kg division, was unable to overcome Paraguay’s Gonzalo Weiler, who secured a convincing 5-0 verdict from the judges.
The scorecards reflected Weiler’s control of the contest, with the judges awarding the Paraguayan 30-27, 29-26, 29-28, 29-28 and 29-28.
James battled gamely throughout, but Weiler was able to dictate enough of the exchanges to earn the unanimous verdict and bring the Guyanese boxer’s campaign to an end.
There was a similar outcome for Vancooten in the women’s 57kg division, where she came up against Paraguay’s Minerva Mereles.
Vancooten was handed a 5-0 unanimous-decision defeat, with all five judges favouring Mereles.
The scorecards were 27-30, 28-29, 27-30, 27-30 and 27-30 in favour of the Paraguayan, who advanced at Vancooten’s expense.
“They both proved that they have what it takes to compete at that level,” Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) president, Steve Ninvalle stated.
According to Ninvalle “Vancooten showed heart. She’s certainly one for the future. James also gave a good account of himself in the ring and I’m happy that they were able to compete, and represented Guyana well.”
Despite the setbacks suffered by James and Vancooten, Pompey’s progress provides Guyana with a major reason for optimism as the boxing programme continues.