Egerton Marcus – the Guyanese who won Olympic silver for Canada

Sep 19, 2010 Sports

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By Michael Benjamin
Unbeknownst to a wide cross section of Guyanese, a Guyanese has also won a silver medal at the Olympic Games, however it was for Canada his adopted homeland and the man, Egerton Marcus, who has performed the feat is, ironically, the uncle of the man that has won the first world title for Guyana, Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis.
Marcus’ amateur boxing career reached it zenith in 1988 when he attended the Seoul Olympics in Korea and returned with a silver medal.
If boxing and boxers were to receive adequate recompense for their contribution to national unity and international acclaim, then the sport would have received a substantial grant and local pugilists would have had no reason to blame inadequate resources for the immense challenges they are encountering in their efforts  to procure international accolades. The stark reality is that such is not the case.
Despite the inadequate financial support given to the sport, executives of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) continue to agitate for top performances by their affiliates and the quantitative and qualitative returns have justified their efforts.
Local history is replete with pugilists that have lifted this country on the world map and to date, apart from Lewis and Marcus’ achievements, Michael Parris’ bronze medal feat at the 1980 Moscow Olympics adds credence to local pugilists’ ability to ‘bring home the bacon.’
There are many other pugilists that have donated their sweat and blood towards the establishment of this country as a force to be reckoned with and have been responsible for the many international accolades procured by this country in the ‘square jungle.’
To date, the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) and the Andrew Lewis Boxing Gyms, situated in Homestretch Avenue and Punt Trench Dam, Albouystown respectively, are national edifices donated towards the nation’s use in honour of Anderson and Lewis’ feats, respectively.
Just under a week ago, another true son of the soil, Michael Anthony Parris, had the highest amateur boxing tournament renamed in his honour. His contribution is some thirty years old after he won a bronze medal at the 1980 Moscow Olympics Games. This achievement had stood in isolation for three long decades.
Marcus was born in Goed Fortuin WCD and bred in Meadow Bank EBD, a small fishing village at the mouth of the East Bank thoroughfare. In 1973, the stocky pugilist left Guyana and took up residence in Toronto Ontario, Canada. He intimated that though he had never donned gloves in Guyana he has always had the propensity of a boxer. Indeed, Marcus comes from good stock being the uncle of Guyana’s first world champion, Andrew ‘Sixhead’ Lewis.
Last Wednesday afternoon the overseas based boxer paid a visit to Director of Youth and Sports, Neil Kumar at his Middle Street office and Kaieteur News was afforded the unique opportunity of an exclusive interview with the champ.
A short stocky boxer, Marcus has all the attributes of a warrior. His swagger coupled with his muscular frame certainly tags him as a rough and tumble pugilist who brokers no deals in his office (the boxing ring). He said that he grew up with his grandmother and would have accrued sound values from her teachings during his teenaged years. It was only after he had migrated that Marcus decided to seriously apply himself to boxing. He explained that upon his arrival in Canada he immediately enrolled as a member of the Cabbagetown Youth Center, situated in the heart of Toronto. It was not long before he was engaged in combat. He first fought in the Ontario championships, the equivalent to the local Novices championships, before moving on to the Canadian Championships and subsequently the Nationals, the highest level of competition in the amateurs.
Marcus said that he fought as a middleweight and enjoyed most of his successes in that division. “I was a natural light/middleweight but another of my gym-mates also fought in that division so in order to maximize our chances at the championships my coach suggested that I move up in weight since he felt I could have handled myself against tough opponents,” Marcus disclosed. He intimated, also, that during his illustrious amateur career he had chalked up 96 fights with 82 wins. Seventy of his opponents were not around to hear the final bell.
Marcus said that he continued fighting as a light/heavyweight even though he could have easily made middleweight. “I was a five times Canadian champion and fought in the North American Boxing Championships after which I earned a number one ranking in the world,” he disclosed. He further participated in the 1985 World Championships but was only able to win a silver medal after losing to a Russian whose name he cannot remember.
If that could be regarded as the nadir, Marcus’ amateur career reached it zenith in 1988 when he attended the Seoul Olympics in Korea and returned with the aforementioned silver medal. That achievement was to be his last in the amateur ranks as he went on to sign up for his professional license. In a professional career that commenced in 1989 and culminated in 2007, Marcus managed to chalk up a record of 17 wins, 4 losses and one draw. Twelve of his opponents were not around for the final bell.
The stocky pugilist said that now that his career is over he has ventured into business and   owns a store in the Toronto area. He acknowledges the mistakes made by many boxers who have conformed to the ‘rags to riches and back to rags’ syndrome. He stated, “Boxing is a school of hard knocks; it is not about how much money you make, its about how much of it you are able to keep.’ Among some of his victims were Andrew Maynard (TKO 8) and Art Bayliss (TKO 11).
Marcus has since promised to become more embedded in the development of local amateur pugilists in their bid to procure the coveted Olympic gold.

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