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Timehri residents treated to action packed card in Easter Day boxing show
By Michael Benjamin
Monday last was Easter, a day when revelers lofted kites of all descriptions sky bound and Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ. While Georgetown residents gathered at the Seawalls, the National Park and other open spaces and attempted to defy gravity by getting their ‘singing engines’ up, boxers of the Timehri Warriors Boxing Gym (TWBG) opposed their Georgetown counterparts and took advantage of the laws of gravity by putting their opponents down.
Rep. boxer Nankumar Singh displays his trophy.
Earlier, a heavy downpour delayed the start of the proceedings and left the ring, constructed in open air, in a soggy condition. The organizers managed to cover the area with a large piece of plastic that restricted the water from totally inundating the fight area and facilitating a prompt start after the rains had subsided.
Indeed, the youngsters, most of them first timers, displayed the kind of enthusiasm and grit, reminiscent of their senior counterparts. The large crowd in attendance that included Director of Youth and Sports, Neil Kumar, Secretary of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association, Sean Richmond and Vice President, Eustace Cuffy among other executives witnessed six delightful, action packed encounters that augur well for the development of the sport.
The action got underway at around 18:00hrs and among some of the better fights was the clash between Republican, Nankumar Singh and Romario Clarke of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF). A rangy southpaw of reasonable boxing skills, Clarke used his height to good advantage from the onset. His sharp right jabs were a wonder to behold as he boxed and moved, forcing his shorter opponent to chase him down.
The fight looked one sided at the initial stages and the general view was that Singh would have been knocked out. The stocky Republican defied his critics and launched a two fisted attack that forced Clarke into reverse mode. The rangy soldier quickly recovered to belt out a few straight punches of his own and the large crowd in attendance knew that the war was on.
The two boxers resumed their fierce rivalry in the second stanza with vicious toe-to-toe exchanges. First, the soldier slammed a straight right to the Republican’s head. Singh took it like a man and retaliated with a looping left. Not to be outdone, Clarke responded with several straight punches that had Singh a bit off balance. He recovered enough to lash out with several one two combination, moments before the bell. The referee stepped in and issued a warning to Clarke after he delivered an illegal punch during the round also. The third stanza was as decisive as it was furious. Whatever Republican coach George
Oprecht told Singh seemed to have revitalized his spirits. The stocky Republican came out and launched a sustained attack that forced his soldier counterpart into reverse mode. Singh upped the ante with several telling punches before Clarke awoke and stitched in some punches of his own. While the crowd felt satisfied with the action, the judges had their work cut out to determine the winner. In the end, Singh prevailed after two judges voted in his favour while the third had Clarke ahead.
Ceon Griffith (FYF) and Ansel Cole (TWBG) battled in the 75-79lbs division and delighted the crowd for three rounds. Confident and aggressive, Griffith launched a two fisted attack that had Cole blocking up for most of the minute long round. Cole attempted to make a fight of it in the second stanza but was outclassed by a rampaging Griffith. A mandatory eight count later in the round certainly did not help his cause and he went on to lose the bout
Ceon Gomes (GDF) oozed confidence in his bout against Marvin Williams (TWBG), commencing with several ramrod punches. To his credit, Williams bided his time and released several salvoes of his own. His persistence almost paid off when he launched an attack that forced Gomes through the ropes and caused the referee to institute the mandatory eight count. It proved to be too little too late as he eventually lost the bout unanimously.
GDF representative, Eon Bancroft, whose father enjoyed some success in the ‘square jungle,’ attempted to preserve the family history when he opposed his gym colleague, Blair Haynes. A bit on the chubby side, Bancroft used his punches to full effect and eventually eked out a 2-1 decision. In the other two bouts, Ron Smith (TWBG) prevailed over David Thomas (REP) while Damian Johnson overwhelmed his gym mate, Dewani Lamkin by a 3-0 margin.
Meanwhile, the boxers resume their rivalry over the coming weekend when GABA stages the National Novices boxing championships from Friday 9 to Sunday 11 April at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue.
With the National Novices boxing championships due to get underway later this week, the boxers surely relished the kind of activity the card provided.
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