– “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