Derick Richmond wins national middleweight title and enhances reputation

Dec 28, 2013 Sports

Sends James Walcott to the ‘Sack’

By Michael Benjamin
The recent devastating knockout victories over Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) middleweight champion, Edmond DeClou and upcoming prospect, Romeo Norville, seemed to have emboldened Derick Richmond and he replicated those accomplishments when he delivered a wicked right hook that crashed into James ‘Sack’ Walcott’s temple and sent him to bed in 2:57secs of the fourth round when the Nations Promotions, in collaboration with the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) staged ‘Linden Showdown’ at the Mackenzie Sports Club Ground Thursday December 26 last.

THE BEGINNING: James Walcott holds a high guard as he fends off Richmond’s blows (left) but his efforts dwindled to naught after Richmond connected and spread him out on his back.

For his efforts, Richmond clinched the vacant local super/middleweight title while retaining the enviable tab of knockout artist. Inexplicably, that fight was the main supporting bout to the Shelly ‘Boom’ Gibson/Shondell Park 4 rounds heavyweight shindig which ended with the former boxer earning a unanimous decision over the latter.
Cassius Matthews then utilized his vast experience to take a close split decision from Kishawn Simon in their 6 rounds junior/welterweight bout, while Kelsie George and Romeo Norville engaged in an entertaining four rounds super/middleweight contest which was eventually deemed a draw. Caribbean Boxing Federation heavyweight boxer, Shawn Corbin also flew in from his Trinidad and Tobago base to engage Anthony Augustin in a heavyweight duel and came out successful after the latter fighter sustained a beating and decided to quit on the stool at the end of the second round.
Fighting out of a southpaw stance, Richmond bustled forward in round one and tagged Walcott with several punches but the taller Walcott limited his opponent’s movements while quartering the ring and delivering pinpoint right crosses in a round where both pugilists scored telling blows even as they engaged in the ‘feel out’ process.
When the bell to start the second round sounded, Richmond sprinted out but Walcott was ready and pasted him with several straight punches. Walcott then unleashed a wicked 1-2 combination that sent Richmond to the canvass and forced the referee to institute the mandatory eight count. He rose, more surprised than hurt, and the two fighters finished the round in a heated exchange.
Richmond started the third round aggressively, bouncing around and delivering an occasional ‘bomb.’ Not to be outdone, Walcott quartered the ring and retaliated with several crunching shots of his own. The fight was progressing at a fiery pace with both boxers giving as much as he received. It was a small crowd but the boxers could not have asked for better support as fans vociferously cheered them on.

Shondell Park (right) tries desperately to fend off Gibson’s two fisted attack.

Richmond unleashed several head shots at the start of the fourth round but Walcott covered up and countered with several salvoes of his own. The latter boxer then upped the tempo with a stiff three punch combination that had his man covering up. It was also clear that Richmond was having a torrid time as his mouth hung open and he was gasping for air. Shortly afterwards, Walcott attacked and pushed his opponent into one of the neutral corners. Richmond attempted to evade the assault and inadvertently stepped onto a wet portion of the ring where his leg sprawled and he sunk to the canvass, his face contorted in pain.
The Berbician pugilist also looked the worse for wear after sustaining a small abrasion over his left eye as Nurse Patricia Green was called into action and, assisted by another nurse from the Linden Hospital, treated his injury before approving the continuation of the bout.
Walcott smelled blood and in his anxiety to finish off his man, carelessly advanced and walked straight into a sucker punch, a wicked right hook that landed on his temple and he crashed to the canvass. Referee, Eion Jardine jumped in and needed a mere 5 seconds to assess the situation before waving the bout off. Nurse Green and her assistant were hurriedly summoned to the ring where Walcott lay for the better part of five minutes. His befuddled mind might not have been able to immediately assess the situation but when he fully recovered yesterday morning he might have discovered that his carelessness would have cost him the national super/middleweight belt.
Tipping the scale at a mammoth 415lbs, 108 more than her opponent, Park assumed an early lead with several clubbing wallops to Gibson’s head that sent her tossing around the ring. With such huge poundage, it was not surprising to see both boxers wheezing midway into the first frame and by the time the bell to end the first round sounded, both appeared to be winded. ‘The Boom’ defied her tiredness and stepped up the pace early in the second round with a flurry of blows that breached Park’s defence despite her most valiant attempts to block. Gibson continued attacking early in the third round but Park had managed to reassert herself and dished out a few thunderous offerings of her own much to the delight of the crowd.
Both boxers appeared to be spent in the final round but Gibson dug in and scored to her opponent’s midriff with Park gamely attempting to match the blows. Subsequently, Park lashed out with a wicked blow, missed and fell to the canvass. That much weight is not easy to manage and she spent the better part of 5 minutes attempting to return to an upright position. When she finally did with the help of referee, Frankie Brisport, she was met by several close quartered combinations that sealed her fate. All three judges, Francis Abraham, Eion Jardine and Carlton Hopkinson voted in favour of Gibson.
Despite registering a draw, the second of his fledgling career, Kelsey George has shown vast improvement, with crisper punches. He did manage to push Norville on the back foot on several occasions but the Harpy Eagles pugilist also demonstrated determination and grit. The final decision was a true reflection of what transpired in the fight which also provided entertainment for the crowd.
For all his pre-fight ranting and predictions, Norville failed to uncover Matthews’ Achilles heels and the latter fighter boxed circles around him in the early stages of the fight. Norville got his rhythm around the third stanza and managed to evade Matthews’ right crosses before unleashing some of his combinations. In the end though, Matthews’ experience stood out as he employed stiff right crosses that kept Norville at bay which in the end cost him the fight. Judges Trevor Arno and Carlton Hopkinson both scored 58-56 in favour of Mathews, while Clairmont DeSouza scored similarly but in Simon’s favour.
Earlier, the fans received the appetizer to the main course when several amateur boxers out of the Mining Town engaged in four action packed exhibition encounters. Those in action were Kurley Hooper up against Ronald Andrews in the 75-79lbs class, while Joshua Corbin squared off against Daukyan Miller in the 84-90lbs class. Hakeem Alexander took on Carlos McPherson while Ejad Alli and Troyston Ward faced off, both fights in the 160-165lbs division.
Several lucky spectators also received lucrative gate prizes after their stubs were selected from among the other paying patrons.