Action galore as GABA stages inaugural rural boxing extravaganza

Feb 22, 2011 Sports

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Kevin Soodoo (l) and Stephon Lewis are lockedin close combat.

By Michael Benjamin

A good sized crowd turned up at the Anderson Sports Complex, Goed Fortuin WCD, and was treated to several exciting fights when the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) staged the Mashramani U-16 boxing tournament at the afore mentioned venue on Sunday afternoon.
Eight gyms battled for honours included the recently established West Side Bombers (WSB) situated in the host area. The other participating gyms are Forgotten Youth Foundation (FYF), Harpy Eagles (HE), Port Kaituma (PK), Five Star (5S), Ricola (RIC), Essequibo (Essq) and Timerhi Warriors (TW).
Not much was expected of the youngsters especially since most of them were only recently introduced to the fistic sport by National Coach, Wensel Thomas who, in conjunction with the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport (MCY&S) and GABA, recently conducted a two months training session for interested residents along the West Coast corridor. Most of the boxers participating in the card were drawn from this pool.
In reality, the tournament was planned to allow executives of GABA and the MCY&S to assess the viability and quality of Thomas’ input during his tenure with the youngsters.
Indeed, the boxers are yet to grasp all of the fundamentals but what they lacked in this department they compensated for in guts.
The first indication of the treat in store for spectators occurred when John Moore (FYF) and Akeem Mullin (HE) faced off. The former boxer rushed in just as soon as the bell sounded and dealt the latter several wallops that pushed him backwards. The onslaught continued up to midway of the round when Mullin lashed out with a one two combination.
Such offensive action only served to rile up Moore who retaliated with several stinging blows. The crowd screamed in delight as both pugilists exchanged salvoes in the centre of the ring, stopping only at the sound of the bell.
As the action heated up in the second stanza, the referee was forced to institute a warning to both principals for ducking below the belt. The toe to toe battle then resumed with both pugilists enjoying favourable moments right up to the gong. The close 2-1 verdict was expected and it was Mullens that walked away with the honours.
Jermaine Scott (FYF) approached his bout with Keith Fraser (PK) in the most aggressive manner from the onset. He attacked like a four runner vehicle devoid of reverse gears; his flailing fist finding its target with unerring accuracy. Fraser bided his time, blocking as many of his opponents swings even though a few breached his defence.

As the round progressed, the lanky Fraser worked himself into a decent rhythm and lashed out at Scott who went into his gearbox and surprisingly discovered that he was equipped with a reverse gear after all. Come to think of it, Fraser not only found the reverse gear but also the brakes as he managed to stop his opponent in 1:28sec of the second frame.
The action was indeed enthralling and even though the fights were not classy, they were action packed and raised the hopes of the administrators of GABA that the talent in the rural areas, once honed and nurtured could compliment the pool nestled in Georgetown.
Meanwhile, early morning showers had left the ground at the venue in a sodden state distorting initial plans of the organizers to set up the ring on the large field. They were forced to improvise and the youngsters had to be content with a makeshift ring inside the building.
Nevertheless, when the action finally got underway, President of GABA, Steve Ninvalle was heartened by the performances of the Simon Pures. He congratulated them after the competition had ended but even before that, at the start of the programme, had urged them to be good sportsmen. Mr. Ninvalle admitted that his executives were faced with numerous teething problems during the planning stages which resulted in the late start. However, he promised to evaluate the card so as to eliminate future problems of a similar nature. He also promised to have a punctual start for the next such card.
The other results are: Telburt Baptiste (WSB) defeated Kevin Mullins (HE), Stephon Lewis (WSB) scored the second victory for his gym; defeating Nick Soodoo (HE), Michael Allicock (HE) was too good for Lionel Narine (WSB) and won a unanimous verdict.
Michael Allicock (HE) won on points over Lionel Narine (WSB) while Jonathon Lewis (HE) was too good for Caleb Bell (5S).
Caleb’s gym mate, Ryan Summer forced the referee to stop his bout against Kemo Lampkin (FYF) in 1:05secs of the second frame while Kevin Thomas (PK) emulated the feat, stopping Nero Persaud (HE) in 1:03 secs of the second round.
Shemar Moore (RIC) lost to Neil DeSantos after the referee stopped the bout in 1:16secs of the third round, Jeremy Scott (FYF) lost to Keith Fraser (PK) when the referee called a halt to their bout in1:28secs of the second frame.
Orrin Bancroft (HE) lost to Joshua Bell (5S), Shaka Moore (Essq) defeated Elijah Insanally (HE), Jamal Archer (HE) lost to Laurex Cummings (5S), Kelon Crandon (Timerhi) was defeated by Matthew Hollingsworth (5S), Ansel Cole (Timerhi) dropped a points decision to Glen Eastman (RIC) Kevin Roberts (Essq) failed to get past Stephen Joseph (FYF), Yohan Richmond (WSB) won from Jevon Richards (HE), Joshua Benjamin defeated Jeremiah Scott (FYF) and Munilal Randy (WSB) lost after the referee stopped his bout against Dequan James (5S) in 23secs of round two.

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