By Kizan Brumell
The Republican Gym emerged as the most outstanding gym when the curtain came down on the Gaskin and Jackson Jewellers’-sponsored National Open, Cadet, Under-15s and Starter Championships at the National Gymnasium, Mandela Avenue on Saturday evening.
Essequibo was adjudged runners-up with the Guyana Defence Force third.
The Republican Gym had the largest contingent of participants on all three nights and their coach Carl Graham was adjudged the most outstanding coach, president of the Guyana Amateur Boxing Association (GABA) Affeeze Khan told Stabroek Sport yesterday.
Graham in an invited comment told Stabroek Sport that the postponement of the final night (which was postponed from Tuesday to Saturday night due to a blackout at the venue) gave his boxers extra time to prepare for their bouts.
Graham added that he was satisfied with the performance of his boxers.
“We won almost all the senior fights but lost all the junior fights so I think we need to go back to the drawing board because the juniors have a lot of work to do. This was just and outing for them to see how they operate in the ring,” he said.
However, it was not a boxer from the Republican Gym but rather from the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) who was the star performer on the final night.
Mark Pierre’s fists delivered unarguably, the cleanest punches spectators may have witnessed during the three nights of boxing.
Pierre demolished, ironically, Republican Gym’s, Sherwin Clarke in the Open light heavyweight division.
A barrage of left hooks caught Clarke while he was braced against the ropes and sent him outside the ropes flat on the canvas.
Clarke gamely returned to the centre of the ring where the onslaught continued and he tasted the canvas once more in the first round.
The referee decided half way through the second round that enough was enough and stopped the contest in favour of Pierre.
In the Open lightweight category, Harpy Eagles’ (HE) Roy Franker and Aubrey Moore of Essequibo, traded shot for shot in a heated battle.
But the advantage shifted when Franker suffered two eight-count knockdowns which gave Moore the upper hand and the victory.
In other results: Isaiah Lall defeated his Ricola gym mate John Moore in the 90-94lbs category while Forgotten Youth Foundation’s (FYF) Tesaun McKenzie defeated Orin Johnson of West Side Bombers (WSB) in the 95-99lbs Starter Under-15 category.
In the Seniors U-15 category Marlon Darrell (Ricola) defeated PRBG’s Richard Williamson in a 110-117lbs encounter.
In a flyweight encounter Kelvin Moore defeated Derick Hyman in a battle of the Essequibians while Marvin Ajeda (FYF) fighting out of the red corner won against Odell Persaud (Essequibo) in a bantamweight clash.
In the Starter Open category Kelsie Mayers (Rep) thrashed Randolph Singh (HE) in the flyweight division while Quacy Hall of Timehri Warriors defeated teammate Ray Pollard in a bantamweight bout.
In the lightweight category Jermain Cort (Rep) defeated Nawaz Alli of (Rep) while in a middleweight encounter, Ryan Hernandes defeated Hubert Adams (TW).
WSB’s Troy Waldron defeated Jason Barker (Rep) in a heavyweight clash while junior bantamweight Ansilla Norville (HE) defeated her gym mate Amanda Chan in the only female bout of the night.
In the more advanced categories; Troy Billey of Buxton Boxing Gym defeated gym mate Kellon Peters in a flyweight clash while GDF’s Royan Jeffers thrashed Ashwel Wilson (FYF) in their bantamweight encounter.
In the junior welterweight division Damien Ross won against Republican team mate Hudley Khan while powerhouse Devon Boatswain of GDF trounced Jermain Barker (Rep) in the welterweight category.
And a composed Rayon Seales (Rep) taught his gym companion Delroy James a thing or two in their middleweight bout.
