Shawn Corbin parks the ‘Big Truck’; Atwell demotes ‘Prince’ Isidore

Oct 29, 2012 Sports

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By Michael Benjamin
After years of dishing out ferocious punches and vicious combinations that toppled mighty foes that eventually earned him the World Boxing Council Cruiserweight title, Wayne ‘Big Truck’ Braithwaite’s attempt to add the World Boxing Council/Caribbean Boxing Federation (WBCCABOFE) Cruiserweight title to his collection, failed dismally and ‘The Truck’ may now be forced to park following a severe beating at the hands of Shawn Corbin when the two clashed on a card dubbed ‘Redemption,’ staged at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), Saturday evening last.

Clive Atwell was also devastating, demoting Trinidadian, Prince Lee Isidore, to a lower rank on his way to a 12th round stoppage and the acquisition of the lucrative WBC CABOFE Junior Welterweight title, while former local bantamweight champion, Dexter ‘The Kid’ Marques turned in a commendable performance to win his six rounds featherweight clash against Rudolph ‘Determine’ Fraser.  Edmond DeClou was also in a no nonsense mood and humiliated Berbician, Kelsey George to take a lopsided majority verdict in their super/middleweight return duel while veteran female boxer, Sharon Ward employed all the tricks in the book to overcome Kwinda Rogers in their 4 rounds middleweight affair.
While the Braithwaite/Corbin bout was billed as the feature attraction, the Atwell/Isidore shindig had all the ingredients of a classic and was by far the more entertaining. The Trinidadian had earlier tipped the scales at 138.4lbs, while Atwell weighed in at 135.6lbs. The weight difference was further highlighted when the two pugilists took to the ring; Isidore sporting bulging, well toned muscles while Atwell, though obviously fit, lacked corresponding muscular contours.
Atwell set the tone from the first gong, delivering pinpoint jabs, finishing off with a mixture of body blows and head shots. The Trinidadian shuffled forward and attempted to control the proceedings with several looping punches but Atwell proved slippery, dancing and punching. The pattern continued into the second stanza with Isidore looking to land the big punch while Atwell carefully constructed offence included a sustained body attack interspersed with stiff combinations to the head.
The new WBC CABOFE Junior Welterweight champion upped the tempo in the third frame with a severe two fisted attack that tormented Isidore and left him somewhat dazed. Still the Trinidadian refused to say die and though many of his punches were either blocked by Atwell or altogether fell short of the mark, he continued to pose an offensive that kept Atwell vigilant and watchful.
Atwell greeted the Trinidadian with a straight right at the start of the fourth round that sent his mouthpiece flying and picked up the pace with a severe body attack that had his opponent from the ‘Land of the Humming Bird’ cringing. The latter pugilist took his punishment like a man and retaliated with several wild swings that kept Atwell at bay but not for long as the persevering Atwell finished the round with a vicious body and head assault.
Isidore resorted to tricks shortly after the start of the fifth round, spitting out his mouth piece to gain some time. The referee frowned on such ploys and issued a warning. Isodore then connected with his first meaningful blow, a clubbing effort to Atwell’s head that forced him back. Atwell quickly reasserted himself and ended the round as the aggressor.
Isidore appeared defeated at the halfway stage of the bout and the pundits had the impression that the end was near. He sustained a methodical beating as Atwell threw all the punches in the book. To his credit, Isidore took his punishment like a man and though most of his punches proved ineffective, he refused to quit. When the bell sounded to end the sixth round, he returned to his corner on rubbery legs and in a daze.
By now, sections of the crowd began to urge the referee to wave the proceedings off especially since periodical announcements of the score indicated a shutdown for the Guyanese pugilist but neither the referee nor Isidore’s handlers, which included Trinidadian promoter/manager/trainer, Boxo Potts, saw the need to call a halt.
Isidore lost some steam in the 7th round while Atwell picked up the pace, driving his man back with carefully constructed combinations to the body and head. The Trinidadian was virtually reduced to a punching bag, still his handlers refused to stop the massacre.
The 8th round was a replica of the preceding round when Atwell drove Isidore in the red corner and pounded him with body and head shots. The Trinidadian continued to hang in while his handlers stubbornly refused to throw in the towel. He returned to his corner at the end of round 8 with a beaten look on his face and the small crowd was certain they had seen the last round of the fight. They were wrong!
Miraculously, the Trinidadian answered the 9th bell and launched an early attack that had Atwell dancing out of range. Despite his pathetic shape, Isidore still looked threatening and Atwell remained watchful as the Trinidadian unleashed several humdingers. Most fell short of the mark as Atwell refused to become complacent and danced out of range.
This was further underlined in the 10th round when Isidore stumbled and wilted yet refused to fall though Atwell threw every punch in the book. Round 11 was a replica of the preceding rounds; a series of combinations to his body and head yet Isidore refused to quit. Atwell drove him from the blue corner to the red, delivering ramrod punches yet the Trinidadian continued to display remarkable resilience.
He entered the fray in the final round with a battered face that underlined the severe punishment to which he was subjected. Atwell then went for broke, lashing out with several vicious punches. Isidore held on but Atwell was relentless and pummeled his man with vicious body and head punches yet Isidore’s handlers stubbornly refused to offer their fighter any respite. It was around that time, with Isidore tottering after several volleys that referee, Eion Jardine, did the right thing and waved the bout off at 30secs of the 12th round. The wisdom of his decision, though several rounds late, was highlighted when the Trinidadian collapsed and vomited in the red corner necessitating the intervention of the ringside physician.
Braithwaite failed to regurgitate the thrilling encounters that led him to the WBC World Cruiserweight title against Vincenzo Cantatore. He spent most of the night going after Corbin who, most times chose to either tie his man up or dance out of range. Indeed ‘The Truck’ was a shadow of his former self loading up on many occasions while Corbin punched and tied his man up nullifying his power punches. Fighting out of a southpaw style, Braithwaite did manage to land a few hard punches but Corbin was up to the task and controlled the proceedings. The unanimous verdict rendered by the two of the judges was indicative of Corbin’s dominance. Harold Laurens of Curacao saw the bout 118-116, the same as Francis Abraham, in favour of Corbin. Andrew Thorne was a little more generous to Braithwaite and scored the bout at a close 114-113, also in favour of Corbin.
Marques turned in a great performance but Fraser was also up to the task. The two were evenly matched but Marques might have surprised Fraser when, instead of employing his usual tactic of boxing and dancing around, he took the fight to him and initiated most of the exchanges. All three judges scored in his favour; Bernard DeSantos saw the bout 57-55, while Carlton Hopkinson and Clairmont DeSouza had similar scores of 59-55 for Marques.
Still incensed by Braithwaite’s poor showing in the Shawn Cox bout a few months ago, the patrons stayed away from his clash against Corbin. They would not feel disappointed judging from the eventual results of the main bout. However, when they would have been told of the Atwell/Isidore showpiece they would rue the lost opportunity to witness a bout that had all the ingredients of a world class affair.

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