Mark Austin’s Junior C’wealth title dreams fizz out

Feb 27, 2011 Sports

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Barbadian takes honours

By Michael Benjamin

Mark Austin’s dreams of winning his first major boxing accolade—the Junior Commonwealth Welterweight belt—evaporated into thin air when he was out-boxed by Barbadian Miguel Antoine as activities in the 12th edition of the ProAm boxing cards concluded at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) last Friday evening.
On the very card, Dexter Marques employed remarkable boxing skills to overcome Hewley Robertson in their super/bantamweight clash, while Rudolph Fraser turned in a courageous performance to take the honours in his lightweight encounter against Guyanese based Barbadian, Gardel Roberts.
Mandessa Moses was outweighed by some 55lbs in her catchweight encounter against Veronica Blackman but turned in a flawless performance to command the proceedings and eventually win a lopsided unanimous verdict.  Mark Murray apparently suffered stage fright and refused to turn up for the weigh-in and medical examinations, one night prior to his scheduled bout against Simeon Hardy, forcing officials of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) to abandon the fight.
The disparity in skills was evident from as early as the first gong when Antoine rushed out with flailing fists.
The Bajan’s a two fisted attack pasted Austin to the ropes and it appeared as though he (Antoine) would have closed up shop very early. This was not to be, however, as Austin managed to squirm away from the trap and delivered a few salvoes of his own.
The Guyanese fighter changed tactics in the second round, sticking out a stiff jab while dancing out of range. The ploy to fight in mid-ring seemed to be working since Antoine was obviously much more comfortable fighting on the ropes. The round surely belonged to Austin who seemed to be recuperating from the first round surprise.
The third round was a replica of the second as Austin wisely kept his distance, delivering a few salvoes while dancing to safety.
As the rounds progressed, both boxers became engaged in routine tactics, quelling the action somewhat. By round five, they both appeared to be spent and opted to clinch, forcing referee Eion Jardine into action.
Fortunes fluctuated as the fight entered the second half but by now it was apparent that Austin was way out of his league. Try as he might, he could not find Antoine’s Achilles heel and was pushed back after spirited attacks from the muscular Barbadian.
Thereafter, Austin refused to take unnecessary chances and kept a safe distance. Whenever Antoine managed to corner him, Austin sought refuge in clinches. This pattern dominated most of the late rounds as both boxers seemed either incapable of, or unwilling to take unnecessary chances.
The eventual scorecards reflected the Bajan’s dominance as Francis Abraham scored the bout 97-93, while Andrew Thorne saw it 99-92. Lionel B Sullivan’s scorecard read 97-94, all in favour of the Barbadian.
For the first time in a long time Rudolph Fraser came to fight. It would not have appeared so in the opening minutes of the bout when his opponent pasted him to the ropes with several wild, uncontrolled swings. Roberts entered the ring dressed in a judges’ robe and accompanying gavel. Much to his dismay, he had to abandon the ominous tool when the bell rang. He attempted to compensate with flailing fists and many of his early blows found their target with crunching accuracy. However, Robert’s punches lacked timing and venom but he still managed to steal the honours in that round.
The tide turned in the second round when Fraser, by now asserted, pushed Roberts backwards with several ramrod blows.
The Barbados based Guyanese blocked some, but most of the punches breached his porous defence.
At the start of the third round Fraser, by now confident, lashed out and after one such attack, Roberts was left with a bleeding wound over his eye.
The doctor examined the injury and determined that the fight could continue whereupon Fraser proceeded to have a field day. At around this time also, the lanky Guyanese began to experiment with varied combinations and fancy foot-works, Roberts simply had no answer and eventually dropped the unanimous verdict.
Moses pummeled Blackman into submission even as the stocky Blackman attempted to bully her. Realizing that she had the weight advantage, Blackman swung ferociously hoping that the punches would have done great damage. Moses, for her part, kept a safe distance, employing a punch and move technique that Blackman had no answer for.  Marques proved that his recent training sojourn in Canada was indeed beneficial when he totally out-boxed a game but out-classed Robertson. With no threat to his dominance, Marques simply breezed through the bout to stay intact on the redemption trail.
ProAm action resumes on March 25 with several more exciting bouts.

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