After weighing in at 134 pounds each, Jamaican, Glenroy ‘Bumpy’ Beckford and multiple division title holder, Clive ‘The Punisher’ Atwell stood with their faces inches apart, their mouths moving at a rapid-fire pace as they shouted at one another.
If last night’s weigh in at the Stabroek Sports Bar was the calm before the storm, tonight’s headline bout of the 30th Guyana Fight Night Pro Am card set for the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH), will be a scorcher.
In one of the most talked about cards in months, fight fans flocked to the Sports Bar and were already buzzing before the boxers took the scale to display their chiseled physiques while exuding confidence.
“The work has been done,” declared Atwell, the reigning national featherweight, lightweight and junior welterweight CABOFE title holder. “Knowing the work has been done takes away all the butterflies, I have done several weeks of training and it’s now time for war.”
Said Beckford:” I am ready mentally, I am ready physically, let us get it on, I cannot wait to get in the ring.”
The 30-year-old Beckford (3(1)-8(3)-0) will enjoy a reach advantage over the boxer/brawler Atwell. The Jamaican will look to establish his jab to breach Atwell’s stoic defense but the local pound-for-pound king’s punching power and his in ring pressure could wear down ‘Bumpy’.
In his 11 fights since making his professional debut in January, 2010, Atwell, the unbeaten 25-year old ‘Punisher’s record stands at 10 wins and a draw. Six of those wins have come by way of knockout. An all-out eight-round battle in envisaged.
Will ‘The Punisher’ remain undefeated or will ‘Bumpy’ score an upset? That question will be answered tonight.
Three other fights of fistic fury are anticipated to engulf the venue.
CABOFE middleweight ruler, Edmond ‘Wonder Boy’ DeClou (14(3)-1-1) who weighed in at 162 pounds will step into the ring against hard hitting Berbician, Derrick Richmond (1(1)-0-1) who weighed in one pound lighter for their eight-round contest.
In a highly anticipated matchup, CABOFE flyweight champion, Dexter ‘De Kid’ Marques (12(5)-2(2)-0) who weighed in at 116 pounds will trade blows with new sensation, Richard Williamson (3(1)-2(1)-0) who scaled 117 pounds. These three highly anticipated match ups as well as the welterweight four-round duel which pits David Thomas against Kishawn Simon is set to ignite the CASH.
If that is not enough motivation to attend the card, three lucky ticket holders will win a Blackberry Smartphone, a Nike Sunglasses and two cases of Premium beer.
The professional bouts will be also be complemented by four amateur match ups.
Stephon Gouveia will take on Anandram Dharamraj (lightweight), Kevin Rodney matches gloves with Trevor King (middleweight) and Stephon Nedd will face Mark Marshall.
Executives of the Guyana Boxing Association (GBA) have also pit Orin Bancroft against Anthony Miguel (105-109lbs).
Admission for Sunday’s card is $1000 and bell time is 20:00hrs.
Sponsors for the event include Banks DIH Limited, Courts, Digicel, Fly Jamaica, Giftland Office Max, Guyoil, King’s Jewellery World and the Ministry of Tourism.
