Redemption: Atwell defeats Mullings to take WBCCABOFE welterweight crown

Feb 23, 2015 Sports

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By Michael Benjamin  
He lost out to Johnny Gonsalves in May last year in his World Boxing Council (WBC) featherweight world title bid and suffered another crushing blow six months later, in Australia, when the referee stopped his fight against Australian,  Kye McKenzie, but Clive Atwell redeemed himself when he rebounded from those losses to register a hard fought split decision victory over Jamaican Contender welterweight champion, Sakima Mullings, and add the World Boxing Council Caribbean Boxing Federation (WBCCABOFE) welterweight title to his bulging collection.

The fight was the main attraction of a proposed 36 rounds boxing card staged by the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) last Saturday evening, truncated by 8 rounds after Mark Austin collapsed in the dressing room moments before his jnr/welterweight fight against Dexter Gonsalves and had to be rushed to the Public Hospital Georgetown (see in-depth report in this edition).
Edmond DeClou then avenged the loss he suffered to Dereck Richmond that kept him out of the ring for several months with a lopsided unanimous points decision in their 8 rounds middleweight shindig. Quincy Gomes was also in winning mode and unanimously took his 4 rounds lightweight scrap against debutant, Keeve Allicock one fight after another debutant, Travis Fraser, boxed his way to a one sided unanimous decision verdict over Barbadian based Guyanese, Shurwayne Estwick, in their jnr/welterweight scrap.
It was clear from the onset that Atwell meant business and he started the fight dancing around while sticking the occasional jab in Mullings’ face. The Jamaican shuffled forward with jabs and right crosses of his own but Atwell started to create angles while stitching in several telling blows. Moments before the bell sounded, Mullings caught up with Atwell and sneaked in a wicked right cross and the fair sized crowd settled down for the treat in store.
Atwell started round two on his toes, punching and moving while Mullings stalked his man, searching for that one big punch. In the meantime, Atwell danced around while using selective punches to pick his man apart. The Jamaican, clearly the burlier of the two, resorted to strong armed tactics on the inside but Atwell stayed up on his bicycle while nullifying his opponent’s aggression with stiff left jabs and occasional right crosses.
Mullings scored a vicious three punch combination at the start of the third stanza that pushed Atwell into one of the neutral corners. Mullings pursued his man and unleashed a wicked two fisted attack before Atwell spun out of the ‘V’ and retaliated with one two combinations. Not to be denied, Mullings stepped up the pace and clearly took this round after forcing his man on the back foot. The battle of attrition continued into the fourth frame and Mullings, who seemed to be having problems with his timings, resorted to bullying tactics. Atwell refused to be bothered and systematically picked his man apart with crisp jabs and right crosses. The two gladiators then became locked in close combat and referee, Eon Jardine was forced to issue a warning to Mullings after he had dealt Atwell two rabbit punches.
At the start of the fifth round, Mullings retained his flat foot stance and stalked Atwell while throwing several mean salvoes. The Guyanese seemed to be growing in confidence and countered with punches to his opponent’s head and midriff while dancing out of range.
Mullings got into his rhythm in the sixth round and had Atwell backing off as he (Mullings) lashed out with mean punches. Atwell stayed on his bicycle and responded with crisp combinations and though they managed to slow Mullings down, was not enough to win the round.
It was in that round that Atwell hit the canvass after stepping into a small puddle near his corner. Referee, Eon Jardine ruled it a slip but Mullings later said that Atwell went down from a legitimate blow. Subsequently, the two pugilists engaged in close combat to the end of the round even as blood gushed from a wound over Mullings’ left eye.
The stocky Jamaican proved that he was not his country’s ‘Contender Champion’ by fluke and dug real deep after his handlers repaired the damage and stemmed the flow. He employed wild swings as he moved in for the kill at the start of the seventh round and his punches unbalanced Atwell somewhat.
The Guyanese pugilist got up on his bicycle and responded with jabs and crosses and once again the blood spurted from Mullings’ damaged organ. Atwell took advantage and ended that round with a wicked right cross.
Round eight clearly belonged to Atwell as he stepped on the accelerator from the onset. Mullings lashed out with a 3 punch combination but Atwell responded with several wallops of his own.
Mullins then upped the ante with a wicked volley but a dancing, squirming Atwell seemed supremely confident, employing classic combinations to keep his man at bay. All this time Mullings’ eye was a bloody mess complements of Atwell’s pin point punches.
Mullins looked fatigued at the start of the 10th round but demonstrated great courage as he stepped up the pace. He lashed out with vicious punches but Atwell’s fleet footed moves nullified the attack by dancing out of range while scoring punches of his own.
The points tally was intermittently released by the judges to Supervisor of bouts, Peter Abdool, who in turned briefed the spectators and at the end of the 10th round Mullings was lagging behind. He sought to make amends in the 11th round, stalking his man and searching for that big punch. He managed to land a few before Atwell once again climbed up on his bicycle and used his jabs to good effect nullifying the attack.
Atwell then tied his man up while controlling the action but Mullings managed to squirm out of the clinch and delivered several clouts that had Atwell seeking refuge behind highly held guards. Atwell recovered enough to end the round aggressively with a pinpoint right cross.
The final round was a gem as Mullings made a last ditched effort to influence the judges; he lashed out with a wicked volley of punches but Atwell weathered the storm with jabs and crosses as he danced around. The Jamaican warrior dug deep and put everything into those final minutes hoping for a miracle; it never came as Atwell danced and jabbed to the final bell.
Trinidadian judge, Mackenzie Granger and his Guyanese counterpart, Francis Abraham saw the fight 116-112 and 118-111 respectively, in favour of Atwell, while Jamaican judge, Clifford Brown had it 115-113 for Mullings.
Mullings was resigned to his fate after and admitted that the bout was a keen contest. He admitted that he got off to a slow start and had to play catch up. However, he was adamant that the fight could have gone his way.
“I agree that there was neutrality with the judging but as a fighter I will take my losses when I’ve been bested but tonight I have to wonder how come the (World Boxing Council) rules were not followed when I was head butted!” Mullings pronounced.
He then cited the requisite rules in support of his claims, “The rules state that a point should be deducted from the agitator for causing the injury. Also, a blind man could have seen that Atwell was holding excessively and that infringement went unchecked without a point deduction or even a warning,” bemoaned the Jamaican Contender champion.
He further pointed to the 6th round slip/knockdown and said that he thought he got a raw deal. “I knocked my opponent down from a legal punch which many who were at the fight feel was a legitimate knockdown but it was ruled a slip. That incident along with more questionable tactics makes me wonder,” he concluded.
Quizzed on plans for his career, Mullings said that he will huddle with his management team and re-evaluate his position. On the issue of a possible rematch he stated, “I suspect that that will be the general consensus and if that’s what the fans want, why not?”
The DeClou/Richmond fight was a dull affair with the former boxer using jabs and crosses to stay ahead while taking no unnecessary chances. Richmond attempted to lure his man into close range while attempting to replicate his previous feat but DeClou stayed at long range where he built up his points and scored a unanimous verdict. All three judges had it in his favour; Bernard DeSantos saw it 80-77, while Trevor Arno and Andrew Thorne scored 79-74 and 78-75 respectively.
The card benefited from corporate input of Fly Jamaica Airlines, Guyana Beverage Company Ltd, Guyana Tourism Board, Hand in Hand Insurance, GTM and Castrol among other business entities.  A lucky patron won the airline tickets put up by Jamaica Airline.

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