Horace Phillips Memorial Tri-nation Boxing Championships…Guyanese boxers cart off lion’s share of loot despite questionable decisions

Mar 10, 2014 Sports

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By Michael Benjamin in Barbados with the compliments of LIAT Airlines, Modern Optical Services, Keith Burrows, Rent-a Tent and Duckies Variety Store

Guyanese boxers shrugged aside two questionable losses and rebounded with three significant victories to claim the honours with 3 gold and one two silver medal when the Horace Phillips Memorial Tri-nation Boxing Championships concluded at the Springer Memorial School, St Michael Barbados, Saturday evening last.

Before a fair sized crowd of screaming Barbadians, Michael April turned in the performance of his life but was still denied the decision after the judges ruled against him by a narrow split decision in his Flyweight bout against Barbadian, Jabali Breedy.
The Guyanese looked sharp at the start of the bout, dancing and jabbing but the shorter Breedy bustled forward, scoring with several right crosses. April then turned up the heat in the latter stages of the round and looked to have been ahead when the bell sounded.
When the second round started, Breedy scored with a few telling right crosses while employing some fancy footwork to stay out of reach. However, as the round progressed he began to show signs of wear and April stepped up the pace, punishing him with several right crosses. Such aggression proved to be effective as Breedy literally ran around the ring to evade the onslaught.
Breedy experienced a ‘second wind’ in the early stages of the final round but his aggression was tinged by professional tactics and some amount of showboating. He should have been warned for this but the referee unwittingly allowed it. April then responded with several measured body blows that pushed his man on the back foot, where he stayed for the rest of the bout. The judges then ruled in his favour, a decision that shocked even the partisan Bajan crowd; their apparent patriotism overrode sound reasoning.
Next up was Diwani Lampkin and realising that the odds were against him, dealt his Bajan foe, Ajayi Jones, several clouts at the start of their Bantamweight affair. He then unleashed a vicious body attack for good measure and then converted with two hooks to his opponent’s head that forced the referee to institute the mandatory eight count.
On resumption, Lampkin turned up the heat with several wicked head shots that sent his man drifting just before the bell came to his rescue. Round three was a replica of the preceding rounds; Lampkin scored at will while Jones unsuccessfully attempted to ward off the aggression. Lampkin turned up the heat with telling blows that left absolutely no room for doubt and was awarded the bout unanimously.
The Delon Charles/Ricardo Blackman Flyweight duel was a gem as both boxers went after each other from the very first gong. The Barbadian opened his account with several sharp right crosses but Charles took the blows like a man and served up several stiff combinations of his own. The crowd screamed in delight as the two boxers went after each other with unbridled ferocity right down to the sound of the bell.
The one minute respite seemed to have worked wonders for Charles who opened a wicked assault on Blackman at the start of the second stanza. He then connected with a vicious one two combination that forced the referee to institute a mandatory eight count on the Bajan.
Blackman attempted to repair the damage on resumption but though in the minority, the Guyanese supporters vociferously egged Charles on and he unleashed another right cross that forced the referee to once again toll away the mandatory eight over Blackman to give Charles a comfortable lead.
Most boxers would have revelled in that advantage and apply defensive tactics in the final round; not Charles though; he met his opponent in the centre of the ring and lashed out with a three punch combination that drifted him backwards.
He must have been surprised when Blackman, instead of wilting, summoned his courage and responded with several vicious punches of his own. Both boxers then stood toe to toe in a delightful display of power punches right down to the final bell.
It was truly a contest worthy of the Olympics stage and the crowd acknowledged this through vociferous applause. In the end, though, the judges ruled in favour of Charles, mostly because of his earlier aggression.
Though under questionable circumstances, the Bajans pulled back a victory when their Lightweight representative, Cobia Breedy, won after the referee called a halt to his bout against Guyanese pugilist, Clairmont Gibson.
The latter boxer was all business at the start of the fight but the former appeared to be stronger; he unleashed several crunching shots that forced Gibson to cover up but the Guyanese demonstrated remarkable courage to end that round on his feet.
The Bajan attacked at the start of the second stanza and an especially wicked left hook followed by a flurry of punches dislodged Gibson’s mouthpiece and forced the referee to institute a mandatory eight count.
On resumption, Gibson was tagged with another right cross and the referee immediately waved the proceedings off. This did not go down well with Guyanese supporters and there was minor confusion as sections of the crowd screamed for an explanation. The referee then consulted with the official in charge of bouts before directing the boxers to their respective corners and the decision was upheld.
The other Guyanese boxer, Middleweight, Ron Smith, had little difficulty in defeating Barbadian, Josiah Greaves on points. Smith took no chances and did just enough to earn a lopsided unanimous verdict.
The Bajans also enjoyed victories in the Welterweight division after female boxer, Kimberly Gittens, defeated Tiffany Reddick of the US Virgin Islands. Jamal Edmond (Bar) then defeated Reddick’s countryman, Jose Piguero before Clayton Laurent recouped lost pride for that the US Virgin Islands with a convincing win over Barbadian, Anderson Emmanuel.
The local squad was managed by GBA executive, Kesa Chase, while Sebert Blake was the Coach. They returned home yesterday morning.

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