“Deadly” Denny Dalton suffered his 3rd consecutive loss on June 24th during the Pro/Am card hosted by the Ministry of Culture Youth and Sport in collaboration with the Guyana Boxing Board of Control Dalton came up against Joel “Mr. Majestic” McRae in Friday Nights professional session. From the beginning of the fight Dalton attacked the slimmer but visibly fit and comfortable McRae but was unable to convert his aggression into a solid performance. The first sign of danger appeared during the 2nd round when a combination put Dalton on the canvas. He survived the 8 count but McRae failed to capitalize on the weakened Dalton and dragged the fight out into the 6th and final round when he was awarded a split decision thus causing Dalton his 3rd consecutive loss in as many appearances.
The highlight of the night was the matchup between Simeon Hardy and Eversley Brown. The bout had bearly gotten underway when a hard right from Hardy put Brown down causing doctors to rush to his aid. Even after the decision was announced Brown was unable to stand on his own causing him to be rushed to a city hospital for medical attention. The lightweight title of Guyana was on the line in the feature bout of the night with Mark Austin Squaring off against Revlon Lake. Lake lost his previous meeting with Austin and as such was eager to avenge that upset. The match was evenly match for the majority of the bout with both boxers landing power punches but unable to convert them into knockouts. Austin was however unable to go the distance in the 12 round encounter.
This could be explained since most local fighters are conditioned for 6 round boxing matches and as such encounter difficulties past the 8th round. Exhaustion showed on the part of Austin from the 9th round and Lake took advantage to deliver a blistering attack giving the impression that he had a bust of energy. The full toll of the exhaustion showed in the 11th round when Lake was placed flat on his back from a volley of punches. Lake therefore avenged his loss and silenced critics and lifted the lightweight title. The other results for the night saw Ray Sandiford overcoming “the Pocket Rocket” Rogers in the other professional bout of the night. Marvin Ageday, Imran Khan from Berbice defeated Richard Williamson and Stephan Goveia triumphed in the amateur bouts of the night.
It must be noted that crowd attendance to the Pro/Am cards is poor and as such apart from the in ring performances, it would be difficult to gauge the success of the monthly fight card.
-Andrew Ross
“Coolie Bully”, “The Best” electrify Rampage
– “2 Sharpe” Allen winss WBC/CABOFE title
Elton “coolie bully” Dharry electrified boxing fans who turned out to see high level Guyanese boxingat Rampage at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall on Saturday May 28, 2011. Dharry, who originates fromLeguan in the Essequibo River but now fights under Boxing 360 from New York, looked confident fromthe starting bell and traded punches with the quicker and more agile Dexter “D Kid” Marques. The match, which was for the WBC/ Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) Bantamweight Championships, saw Marques being evenly matched against the flat footed and patient Dharry. The 7th round was however the end of the line for Marques who before the fight had a record of 9 wins but suffering1 loss. 2 minutes into the round Marques buckled from a careful red jab, noticing this Dharry wentinto “bully” mode and dealt Marques a volley of power punches until he hit the canvas and forced the referee to end the bout. The crowd went wild and supporters rushed to congratulate the new champion.
Another exciting match of the evening saw Cruiserweight Champion Kurt “the best” Best taking on Light Heavyweight Champ Mitchell “Strongman” Rogers for the Heavyweight Championship of Guyana. Mitchell, representing Canal # 1 West Bank Demerara, appeared to be the more attacking fighter inthe early rounds of the match. He was however weary of the right hand of Best throughout the match. Mitchell seemed content with wearing down his opponent with jabs to the body. Best was howeverlooking for the knockout punch and found the opening early in the eighth round. After landing a solidjab Best noticed Mitchell staggering a bit and immediately followed with a hard right hand which knocked the 220 lbs “Strong man” flat on his back. Try as he might Mitchell could not survive the 8 countby the referee and even after the match was officially over he was still holding on to the ropes in aneffort to regain his footing.
The feature bout of the evening left a lot to be desired as New York State Super middleweight Champ Lennox “2 Sharpe” Allen came up against Kwesi “The Hitman” Jones. Jones, who usually fights under the Friday night Fights Card, was no match for the seasoned and fit Allen. The Hitman kept looking to land power punches in an effort to bring the match to an exciting and early close but the more experienced Allen evaded him while occasionally landing jabs and solid body shots. Jones was the more active fighter throughout the bout but his tiredness and lack of 12 round conditioning began to show from rounds 10-12. The referee had to continually part the fighters as Jones sought to hold and push Allen into the ropes then try to land punches. The Hitman was visibly shaken several times in the final round but held onfor dear life to avoid taking to the canvas. In the end the judges unanimously awarded Allen the WBC/CABOFE Super middleweight Championship.
In the supporting bout of the night Edmond De Clou, from the mining town of Linden, defeated WinstonPompey in the middleweight non title matchup. Meanwhile in the other non title fight the younger and faster Ray Sandiford won his first lightweight fight against the seasoned Cecil Smith.
– By Andrew Ross