GBBC ‘Bad Intentions’ Boxing Card...

GBBC ‘Bad Intentions’ Boxing Card…

Aug 27, 2016 Sports

Can Dexter Gonsalves replicate his previous knockout feat?

Tonight’s fight should tell!

By Michael Benjamin

After 8 years in the professional boxing arena, Dexter Gonsalves’ main claim to fame is a 10thround stoppage over Clive ‘The Punisher’ Atwell when the two fighters faced off for the vacant WBC Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) lightweight title last year October.
Whether he had instilled fright into the hearts of future opponents or simply his inability to attract top world beaters, Gonsalves had remained inactive ever since and while the pundits have dubbed him to be ring rusty, Gonsalves has debunked these assertions and will be out to prove that he is still of pristine quality when he enters the ring tonight at the Giftland Office Max Mall, Lilliendaal ECD. He will be matching gloves with former World Boxing Association super/lightweight champion, DeMarcus ‘Chop Chop’ Corley over 12 rounds, for the World Boxing Council’s FECABOX lightweight title.
Corley arrived in Guyana early Thursday morning to keep his ring date and spewed confidence when he appeared at a press conference at the fight venue. Unlike the affront of bravado demonstrated by most boxers, Corley chose to be humble and philosophical in his analysis of what will transpire in the ring tonight. “We are both great fighters and while I expect to win the fight I am expecting a tough battle with Gonsalves,” he said.
He doesn’t strike one as a braggart but his record suggests that he is more talkative with his fists. A veteran of valuable experience, Corley has compiled a 47-27-1 record stopping 28 of his opponents for a decent 37% knockout ratio.
A juxtaposition of Gonsalves’ record illustrates an 8-1-2 effort with a lone loss to Michel Agard in December 2006. Such a disparity might cause the pundits to surmise a shut down for Corley whose glamorous resume includes such big names as former world champions Devon Alexander and Marcos Maidana.
Corley was a world champion from 2001 to 2003 and also matched skills with Zab Judah while turning in great performances against two other world class pugilists, Darryl Tyson and Floyd Mayweather Jr among others.
While Gonzalves has been inactive for just over a year, Corley has been more than active and proved that he still has what it takes to, not only trade punches with the champions, but to punch his way to victories. This was quite evident in his recent sojourn in Jamaica where he won three fights with knock-out victories against Jamaicans Richard Holmes and Revlon Lake Jamaican, Michael Gardener fared no better as he also lost on points.
Unlike the other fighters that are appearing on the card, Corley appears to be humble, even contrite, in his evaluation of the fight and has predicted that the bout would go the distance. “But I’m going to win,” he quickly asserted.
Inactive or not, Gonsalves is a dangerous fighter; he possesses deceptive power and has proven that he could take a decent punch. A lanky fighter, Gonsalves is stronger on the outside but has also demonstrated remarkable ability to trade blows on the inside. Maybe his most pertinent trait is his patience as noted in the Atwell bout. The latter fighter was all over him for the larger part of the fight yet Gonzalves kept his cool and continued to stalk his man until the perfect opportunity presented itself and he did not err. This simply means that Corley will have to be very circumspect and must be careful not to lapse, even for a second in the bout. Irrespective of any pre-fight analysis, it will boil down to which fighter wants to win badly enough to dig deep enough. Boxing pundits will just have to be at ringside tonight to be able to answer that question. One thing is for sure, punches will fly.
The main supporting bout should also be a gem when local boy, Mark Austin, matches gloves with Jamaican, Richard ‘Frog’ Holmes in an 8 rounds middleweight encounter. ‘The Frog’ arrived in Guyana early yesterday morning, one day after the press conference. However, in an earlier discussion he had brashly stated that he will take care of Austin. He sports an 11-6-0 record, winning 6 times inside the distance giving him a 33% knockout ratio.
Austin had commenced his (professional) career on a fantastic note but lost his way along the line. He had wisely taken a sabbatical and tonight’s bout should tell whether he has reasserted to his winning ways. An exciting fighter, Austin may very well find the rampaging advances of ‘The Frog’ too much to handle but then again, the self imposed exile might be just the tonic the doctor ordered and Austin may be rejuvenated enough to pull off a mighty victory.
Imran Khan fought Quincy Gomes last February to mark the second fight of his professional career. However, while symbolically donning his vest, Khan retained the very amateurish approaches that made his successful. He was to learn a valuable lesson when Gomes turned up the heat in the latter rounds and left him gasping for breath and eventually taking the decision. Khan has since said that he has learned from the experience and is ready to reverse his fortunes. Gomes has other ideas and has promised to abbreviate the bout by at least 2 rounds. The two had had an interesting exchange of barbs and tonight fans will want to see the matching exchange of punches. Should the two oblige, a great bout is in the making.
Otherwise, two other fights will comprise the card and when the curtain goes up, Kelsey George will tackle Charwin Estwick in an 8 rounds super/middleweight affair while Anthony Narine will make his debut against Keeve Allicock in a 4 rounds lightweight shindig.
Fans disgusted by late starts will be happy to hear that the bouts will be televised to a wide international audience by E-Networks and the first bout will have to accommodate the rolling cameras at 20:00hrs sharp. Admission is $3,000 for ringside while general seating is $1,000. Other categories of admittance include a VIP package for 2 people at $20,000 and a group VIP package for 6 people for $100,000. These include meals, drinks and special parking facilities.