'Mystery Lady' tames the 'Panther' to claim WIBA belt

‘Mystery Lady’ tames the ‘Panther’ to claim WIBA belt

Sep 28, 2009 Sports

Moore too good for Pastrana,
Eastman KO’s Placide

By Michael Benjamin
A gutsy display of skill, aggression and courage distinguished Shondell ‘Mystery Lady’ Alfred from American/Guyanese, Corinne Van Ryck DeGroot, earning her a majority decision and the Women’s International Boxing Association (WIBA) bantamweight belt, when the two fighters faced off in a ten round title scrap at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), Saturday night last. Shortly after the announcer had declared that she was ‘winner and new champion,’ Alfred pronounced, “The mystery has been solved now it’s on to the next case!”
Indeed the win places Alfred in high esteem as the second woman, after Gwendolyn ‘Stealth Bomber’ O’Neil, to win such a prestigious accolade for her country. It was not easy going for the new champ who had to employ wily tactics and eventually survived a stern tenth round test to turn back the challenge of a determine DeGroot.
It was a classy encounter, characterized by guts and skill. Fighting out of a southpaw stance DeGroot, the taller of the two fighters started the bout aggressively and utilized her reach to keep the shorter Alfred at bay. The feeling out process continued up to the halfway point of the first stanza when referee Eion Jardine warned DeGroot for employing wrestling tactics. Shondell Alfred, anxious to get it on, stepped up the pace shortly afterwards but DeGroot got on her bicycle, effectively nullifying the Guyanese fighter’s attack.
As the bell to signal the start of the third round sounded, Alfred rushed out and connected with a few salvoes but the fleet footed DeGroot managed to dance her way out of trouble. Alfred’s persistence eventually paid off when she backed DeGroot into a neutral corner and unleashed a vicious one two combination to send the American fighter sprawling on the canvas. Merely shaken instead of hurt, DeGroot sprang up almost immediately where referee Eion Jardine instituted the mandatory eight count.
Round four was exciting as both fighters went after each other, attempting to grab the advantage. Alfred stalked her opponent who by now had become wary of her (Alfred) tactics. Adapting a flat-footed stance, Alfred purposefully advanced while DeGroot employed classical moves to wriggle her way out of danger.
When the bell sounded, both fighters were engaged in a vicious exchange.
The fifth round certainly belonged to Alfred as from the very start she employed a two fisted attack to stave off DeGroot’s advances. On several occasions, she backed the taller fighter to the ropes while attempting to finish her off. However, the wily DeGroot held a high guard, nullifying the power of most of the blows.
Both fighters went after each other in the 6th round. DeGroot danced smoothly while scoring with several one two combinations. It was in this round that she managed to exploit Alfred’s weakness, backing her to the ropes on several occasions. In this round also, Alfred was guilty of lunging, causing most of her punches to fall short of the mark. It also appeared as though the tide was turning in DeGroot’s favour, as the lanky fighter seemed to have discovered Alfred’s weakness.
Fortunes fluctuated through rounds seven and eight with each fighter taking as much as she received. It was also apparent that DeGroot was growing in confidence. She enjoyed an especially good penultimate round when she rocked Alfred with several vicious combinations that had her back-pedaling. As DeGroot pressed on, Alfred backed away, tentatively flicking an occasional jab in the American’s face. Alfred did well to survive this round while a reenergized DeGroot literally ran to her corner.
The final round proved to be the sternest test for Alfred. Resuming where she had left off in the ninth round, Degroot attacked purposefully and connected with several salvoes that sent Alfred reeling. Apparently, realizing that she was behind on the judges’ scorecard, DeGroot stepped up the pace with vicious combinations that Alfred went unanswered. Punches rained from every conceivable angle as DeGroot attacked with venom. After one of these attacks, Alfred’s knees rested on the canvass but the referee ruled that it was a slip and ordered the resumption.
As the seconds ticked away, DeGroot desperately searched for the right punch to put her opponent away but Alfred managed to weather the storm and the sound of the final bell must have been food to her ears. All three judges were impressed and voted in favour of Alfred. Ian Alves had it 99-90 while Lionel B Sullivan scored 97-94. Trevor Arno saw it 96-92.
After the fight, an ecstatic Alfred philosophized, “If you work hard you will fight easy!” The newly crowned WIBA bantamweight queen said that while she felt truly tested in the fight, she was not hurt. Quizzed on her thoughts during the tenth round when DeGroot turned up the heat Alfred said, “That was a tough period but I was just hanging in there knowing that the end was almost near.” The new champion also revealed that president of the WIBA, Mr. Rissow has promised to secure additional international fights for her in the near future. Quizzed of her immediate plans Alfred pronounced, “I will be back in the gym next week. I do not want to be caught napping. I want to be prepared for anything that comes my way.”
The preceding bantamweight clash between Leon ‘Hurry Up’ Moore and former Colombian World bantamweight champion, Mauricio Pastrana went all the way down to the wire but the Guyanese fighter employed superb boxing tactics to outlast the stocky Colombian.
The victory earned Moore several titles that included the WBC Continental of America, the North American Boxing Association (NABA), the Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE), and the FEDE Latino belts.
Pastrana spent most of the night relentlessly pursuing Moore in the hope of landing one of his haymakers. To his credit, Moore wisely evaluated the circumstances and decided that the best ploy was to dance and score intermittently. In so doing, he managed to nullify Pastrana’s attacks, making the fight appear ridiculously simple. Judge Bernard DeSantos voted for Moore 119-109 while Francis Abraham and Clairmonte DeSouza scored the bout 120-109 and 119-109 in favour of Moore.
The largest crown in attendance for some time now also witnessed several action packed performances in the under-card.
In the first fight Shawn Pile, who returned to the ring after a lengthy layoff, humiliated Paul Lewis (Jnr), knocking him out in 2:30 secs of the first frame in their featherweight clash. Iwan Azore continued his winning ways with a majority points decision over veteran boxer, Wayne Briggs.
In the third fight of the evening, Dexter Marques, on the redemption trail after his humiliating second round knockout to Moore three months ago, put up a classy display and unanimously overcame Hewley Robinson in an action packed four rounds super bantamweight scrap.
Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman then rocked Kevin Placide with a powerful straight right that left the Trinidadian spread-eagled on the canvass. He remained there for the better part of 15 minutes whilst the doctors feverishly tried to revive him. The crowd must have felt relieved when Placide awoke from his slumber to pronounce, “I’m okay. These things happen sometimes but I’m okay.”