All systems in place as Beckford arrives for ring date with Atwell

Oct 11, 2013 Sports

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By Michael Benjamin
Clive ‘The Punisher’ Atwell has recently taken the local boxing scene by storm with crunching knockout wins over Rudolph Fraser, Revlon Lake and Prince Lee Isadore. Those victories have pushed him up the rankings and solidified his claims as the top pound for pound pugilist on the local scene.
Despite his dominance there are still a few ‘Doubting Thomas’s’ that refuse to acknowledge his superiority while beseeching local promoters to secure stronger challenges for him. Well, those naysayers will have an opportunity to assess Atwell’s true worth when he steps in the ring this Sunday night against top Jamaican boxer, Glenroy Augustus Beckford in an eight rounds lightweight affair when the Guyana Boxing Board of Control presents the 30th edition of Guyana Fight Night Sunday October 13 next.

The Jamaican boxer arrives in Guyana later this evening and boxing buffs may be able to see him in action at one of the boxing gyms to be identified later. Atwell will continue his workouts at the Andrew Lewis Boxing gym, Albouystown at 16:00hrs today. The Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) lightweight champion attended a press briefing at the National Communication Networks studio yesterday afternoon to discuss his strategy and other issues pertaining to the bout.
Several of the top brass of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) also attended the function including President, Peter Abdool, Vice President, Andrew Thorne and Marketing Manager, Michael Fung. Wincel Thomas represented the Guyana Boxing Association.
Atwell said that he is grateful to the GBBC administration for their support which has seen him securing several fights and titles over the past year. He said that he has been engaged in tough training and though he feels that his work is not yet complete, he said that he will round off nicely in time for fight night. “I heard that Beckford is a tough cookie but I plan to give a good account of myself and when the smoke is cleared I will be victorious,” declared Atwell.
Atwell’s bout is not the only potential crowd pleaser as Richard Williamson will engage Dexter ‘The Kid’ Marques in an 8 round bantamweight affair. Marques is a slick customer and starts out as the favourite but Williamson, despite his newness on the professional scene, has the tools to take care of Marques. He has surrendered a decision to Charlton Skeete by disqualification after blatantly breeching the rules.
An injury to his hand after an exchange of punches with Rudolph Fraser was responsible for his second loss; he had earlier clinched a lopsided verdict over Fraser. Currently under the tutelage of Jeff Roberts, Williamson has vowed to commit himself to his tasks and Kaieteur Sport was in Berbice last week to observe him at work in the gym. His demeanor and application to his training suggest that he is ready for a tough fight and Marques will do well to take note.
Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) middleweight champion, Edmond DeClou will square off with Derick Richmond in an 8 rounds middleweight contest and the former boxer will not want to ignore the raw determination and guts that resulted in the former securing a draw against Syrian pugilist ‘The Dentist’ Mammoud one fight prior. Richmond also defied the odds to register a 3rd round knockout over Romeo Norville when they clashed last year August. He is a dangerous boxer that could very well create problems for DeClou.
Welterweight pugilist, Kishawn Simon had much to say when asked of his intentions; he fights David Thomas in a 4 rounds welterweight scrap. He spoke of emulating DeClou while saying that now that he (DeClou) is ready to move on to international acclaim, he (Simon) is ready to take over the mantle. His opponent was unavoidably absent from the function and could not respond.
The boxers appearing on the amateur segment of the card would soon be announced as officials of the Guyana Boxing Association mull over the best pairs for the card.
The weigh in and medical examination will take place at 19:00hrs tomorrow evening at the Stabroek Sports Bar, atop Demico House.
Several corporate entities have teamed up to ensure the success of the promotion including Giftland Office Max, Digicel, Courts, and Guyoil. King’s Jewelry World and the Ministry of Tourism; flight Jamaica will offset the travelling cost of the Jamaica entourage.
Patrons are also asked to retain their ticket stubs for a special drawing that guarantees three lucky persons lucrative gate prizes. The first prize is one cell phone donated by Digicel with the second prize being one pair of Wike sunglasses. The third gate prize will be 2 cases of Premium beer compliments of Banks DIH Ltd.

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