Allen too sharp for Gilkes, Moore hurries up Marques

A wicked left uppercut one minute and 42 seconds into the second round was all Moore needed to stop Marques and reclaim the national bantamweight tile.

Betting pundits spent lavishly on the clash between the two fighters which many predicted would have been a classic.

However, Moore was true to his word that that he would give the young fighter a     lesson in boxing he would never forget.

He did.

IN A HURRY! Leon Hurry-Up Moore walks to the neutral corner as referee Eion Jardine begins to count out dexter Marques. (Orlando Charles photo)
IN A HURRY! Leon Hurry-Up Moore walks to the neutral corner as referee Eion Jardine begins to count out dexter Marques. (Orlando Charles photo)

The two boxers entered the ring to loud shouts and whistles from the large crowd but after the bell sounded for the start of the first round the winner was obvious.

Marques prior to their engagement had declared that he was a better fighter than Moore.

But the world-rated fighter let his gloves do the talking and it was soon pretty obvious who was the superior boxer.

The bout began with the two fighters feeling each other out as they would say but Moore was always the aggressor.

His experience was evident in the way he cut the ring off from his opponent, along with his posture and the bulls-eye jabs that did a lot of damage to his opponent.

Marques’ supporters were dumbfounded after his first round showing of their man but little did they know it would only get worse.

Moore came out with a bang in the second round and used his superior  reach advantage and speed well which made it almost impossible for ‘The Kid’ to even get close.

As if they had seen what was coming next from a mile away Moore’s supporters began to gyrate in the stands.

What followed was vintage stuff.

A hard right hand to Marques’ body which, followed by a nasty uppercut, sent Marques sprawling to the canvas.

Moore, certain that he wouldn’t get up, calmly walked to his corner as Referee Eion Jardine counted the former champion out.

After the fight Moore, who is also the World Boxing Council (WBC) Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOF) bantamweight champion, said that he would vacate the national title again since it serves no purpose to him.

He claimed that he only took the fight to prove that he is the best bantamweight fighter in Guyana.

Moore added that his intention was to now secure a world title shot as he is yet to be beaten in the Caribbean.

With the win, he has extended his record to 24 wins with 22 coming by knockout.

He has two loses from his 26 fights while Marques suffered his first taste of defeat in his fifth bout.

The headline card was a one sided affair but it gave curious persons a chance to see the touted next world-champion from Guyana, Lennox Allen in action.

It might not be the best way to judge the 24 year-old Allen since Gilkes proved to be no match.

Prior to the clash Gilkes had wagered $100,000 to anyone who felt that Allen would knock him out in four rounds.

He should pay up, that is, if he did have any takers.

Gilkes was put down in the first round but recovered and held on to finish the round.

It took Allen a mere 30 seconds into the second round to tame ‘The Lion’.

A rigid right hand to the body was followed by a left hand that caught Gilkes flush in the face and everything after that as they say was history.

Gilkes pounded his hands on the ground in disgust but his facial expression showed pain and he appeared dazed and could only watch as Allen became the new national super middleweight champion of Guyana.

After the fight, Guyana’s Middleweight Champion Howard Battersea Bomber Eastman extended a challenge to Allen and he accepted by stating…“We could do it now if you feel like..I’m more than ready for you.”

Meanwhile in the supporting bouts, Edmond De Clue out boxed Kwesi Jones in four rounds to win their middleweight contest by a unanimous decision and Debby Tyson lost to Sharon Warde by a split decision.

In the first fight of the night Pauline London jabbed her way to a unanimous decision over Shelly `Agricola Boom’ Gibson.