All round input needed for a return of the boxing crowds

Sep 21, 2014 Sports

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Suggests Michael Benjamin

Back in the late seventies, the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), then with three bleachers and an approximate capacity

of 3000 patrons would have been bursting at its seams with screaming fans when such pugilists as Lennox Blackmoore, Patrick Ford, Lennox Beckles and a myriad of other pugilists graced the square jungle against local and internationally acclaimed opposition.

When those pugilists hung up their gloves, another erstwhile group of warriors including Barrington Cambridge, Jeff Roberts, Darius Ford, and yours truly (if I can be excused to blow my own trumpet), among others, commanded the local scene and promoted the legacy thus retaining the action packed encounters and by extension, the huge crowd support.

Somewhere in the late eighties, a new crop of pugilists graced the scene and inexplicably the crowds disappeared. The many promotional groups, the likes of Del Mar, People’s Syndicate, Ringside and a host of others simply disappeared and the promoters blamed the absence of the crowds coupled with poor corporate support as their key reasons for downing arms; the corporate entities lamented the poor and sometimes mediocre performances of the boxers for restricting support, a chicken and eggs situation.

The concomitant result is that boxers are now fighting to near empty stands with the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) being the sole group battling with the promotion of cards. While a plethora of reasons may be extended for the sad state of affairs, one of the key reasons for the dissipation of all round support has its genesis in several highly touted theories and unless expeditiously grappled, will witness a further degradation and an eventual unceremonious halt to the developmental wheels that has kept the sport limping forwards over the past few years.

There is absolutely no doubt that President of the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC), Peter Abdool’s heart is in the right place; he has spent endless hours mulling over strategies coupled with millions of dollars to keep the sport alive. There is no need to mention the Guyana Fight Night initiative which apparently failed to gain momentum and after approximately three years is in danger of extinction. So, barring an adverse response to the poor all round support, what then is the answer to the issue of improvement of the situation?

If one is to be honest, GBBC President, Peter Abdool, would be more interested in the advancement of the boxers; his only concern for crowd support is because it is the catalyst to the aforementioned variable. It therefore means that there is a need for the intervention of other stakeholders if the equation is to be balanced.

Boxing is a trade that is learnt in the gym but since the sport is regarded as a microcosm of life, boxers ought to be taught that the sport can be extrapolated to daily activities for a better understanding of the sweet science.

Those that extend the view that the Guyana fight Night initiative was ill advised and proved to be counter-productive do not understand the logistics of the sport or just prefer to adapt a blinkered view of the wider picture. To begin with, dozens of pugilists, at home and further afield in the Caribbean, have been kept active and elevated their professional lives through the acquisition of lucrative fights.

Many of our local pugilists also won the lucrative Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) belt and went on to attract world acclaim, Clive Atwell, Leon Moore, Elton Dharry and Dexter Marques are but a few that readily comes to mind; the problem seems to be that boxing buffs seem to have lost confidence in the present crop of boxers to truly turn in action packed bouts. Mr. Abdool’s position as the CABOFE boss has also served local pugilists well but it seem painfully obvious that our boxing (fraternity) is taking this for granted.

Just about a week ago, several boxers out of Jamaica travelled to Guyana to engage their counterparts on a card promoted by the GBBC and dubbed ‘Return of the Contenders.’ It must be noted that the ‘Contender’ is a spring off from Mr. Abdool’s Guyana Fight Night initiative.

Once again, the promoter had to contend with dismal crowd support and if one is to be honest, just two bouts really made the grade as crowd pleasers. The Derek Richmond/Sakima Mullings bout fizzed out to a farce after the former boxer suffered an early injury and by the end of the second round it was all over. Winston Pompey may have turned in his best performance of his professional career to date, but while he has shown improvement in the physical department, he has blundered mentally and may just need a few weeks at the drawing board to reorganize his career.

Richard Williamson commenced his professional career on a successful note after he would have had a commendable amateur career. It seems though, that he has lost his way and appeared weak and out of sorts for his last few fights. Leon Moore, just back from the USA, cannot honestly feel satisfied with a lopsided TKO victory over Mark Murray and ought to be cognizant of the quality of opposition from here on; fighting bums would only give a false sense of invincibility.

The standout on that card was Dexter Gonsalves who stopped Mark Austin after eight rounds of well- structured attacks and counter attacks. (His performance is for another, soon to be written article).

The news that Atwell is back and is on a collision course with Mullings is certainly heartening but good fights on a one off basis can hardly compensate for the poor quality of performances that seems to be the norm rather than the exception.

The team of coaches, the likes of George ‘Canchi’ Oprecht, Lennox ‘Cappell’ Daniels, Joseph Murray, Sebert Blake as well as those out of Berbice will now have to instil in their fighters that they must change their approaches and support the work of the officials of the GBBC if the crowds are to return. There were too many technical flaws in Richmond and other boxers’ repertoire and the gym is the place to correct them.

Otherwise, boxers need to take a page out of the books of their international colleagues who understand the intricacies of the sport and aspire to sell tickets by their actions and words. The stark reality is that boxing is now show business—no show, no business.

 

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