Gilkes defeats King in Pro/Am Boxing Card

May 03, 2010 Sports

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By Michael Benjamin

Leon entered the ring as ‘The Lion’ while Theopholous is the authentic ‘King.’ At the end of their four rounds encounter Gilkes snatched both titles and exited the ring as ‘Lion King’ when the Guyana Boxing Board of Control staged another successful night of fistic fury in the third edition of the ProAm boxing card at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall, Homestretch Avenue on Saturday evening.

The card also staged in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports and the National Communications Network saw Gilkes turning in a crowd-pleasing performance to earn a unanimous verdict over Theophilus King and cart off the spoils.

In the second professional fight of the night, Pauline London, despite a credible performance, failed in her attempt to defeat Lindener, Sharon Ward in their catchweight fight.

Kwesi Jones and James Walcott next battled for four rounds and the former fighter prevailed with a close point’s decision in the 4 rounds junior welterweight scrap. Earlier in the night, Michael DeMattos shrugged aside suggestions of ring rust to eke out a points decision over Laurex Benn in their junior/middleweight scrap.

King weighed in at 202lbs, forty-two more than Gilkes at 160lbs. Ironically it was Gilkes with a reach of 2 feet, 10 inches that enjoyed the advantage in this department to King’s 2 feet, 7 inches. Notwithstanding this, Gilkes elected to battle on the inside in an attempt to nullify his opponent’s power shots. King spent all of two minutes sizing up his man before he launched his first attack. Several thudding blows to Gilkes’ body and head forced the shorter fighter to stay up close for most of the first stanza, attempting to nullify his opponent’s power shots.

As the second bell sounded, King flexed his bulging muscles and advanced with blood in his eyes. Only this time Gilkes was ready for the attack. He countered with several ramrod shots that forced King to hold a tight guard. Gilkes followed up the attack with left digs to King’s body and then converted into left hooks to the head. By now, a large portion of the crowd was on its feet urging Gilkes onwards. He responded with a body attack that backed King to the ropes shortly before the bell.

Realizing that the fight was slipping away, King upped the ante in the third frame and slammed a left hook to Gilkes’ head. He then delivered a right uppercut that went a tad below Gilkes’ button and the latter fighter fell to the canvas clutching his groin, his face contorted in pain. The referee issued a warning to the offending fighter and duly allowed Gilkes enough time to recuperate from the illegal blow. He needed just two of the stipulated five minutes to re-enter the fray, launching an attack as if to make King pay for his indiscretions.

When the bell to signal the start of the final round sounded, the consensus seemed to be that the fighter that won this round would have carted off the spoils. Whether this reality was conveyed to the two fighters is not known but they both entered this segment as if they were told. Punches rained from both principals as each attempted to impress the judges. First, it was Gilkes, who let loose with several salvoes to King’s head. The latter fighter took it like a man and delivered several crunching responses. Gilkes then changed tactics, dancing and utilizing the ring while pausing intermittently to lash out with some mean blows. Not to be outdone, King matched his every blow.

The sound of flesh crashing into flesh was distinct from the crowd’s roar and only the sound of the bell separated the two gladiators. Both boxers entered their respective corners with lifted hands, each confident of winning the bout. The judges decided that Gilkes had done enough to earn a close decision. Naturally, King was dissatisfied and demanded a return encounter.

The Jones/Walcott bout did not live up to the pre-fight billings with both boxers constantly seeking reprieve through clinches. Much was expected of Jones after his three epic encounters with Edmond DeCleau but he failed to deliver. At one stage, both fighters delivered crunching blows to each other’s body and head, lifting the hopes of the fans of a brutal encounter. However, these periods were few and afar and in the end, Jones earned the judges’ nod by dint of being the more aggressive.

Pauline London’s ambitions of setting up a thriller with her sibling, Pamela, suffered a setback when she failed to get past Sharon Ward. The Lindener was her usual bustling self, scoring punches at will to London’s body and head. For her part, London failed to gauge Ward’s movements and most of her punches were way off the target.

Ward, who gave away 50 pounds (she weighed 170lbs to London’s 220) was unhampered by the disadvantage since she elected to fight on the outside. Her record improves to 7 wins against 4 losses while London’s drops to 2 wins and 3 losses from five fights.

In the night’s opener, DeMattos, the taller of the two fighters, was initially guilty of close range combat against Benn when he should have been boxing and scoring at long range. Whenever he decided to fight up close, Benn was able to effectively score at will. Apparently upbraided by his seconds, DeMattos decided to change strategies and in the end earned a points decision for his efforts.

The action continues on the last Friday of this month with four more professional bouts to be announced later.

 

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