‘Assassin’ strikes ‘Lion’

Mar 27, 2011 Sports

Referee Eon Jardine straps the championship belt around Jones' waist minutes after he was declared the new local light/heavyweight champion

– ‘Battersea Bomber’ fails to take off

By Michael Benjamin
Kwesi ‘Lightening Struck Assassin’ Jones should have fought Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman for the light/heavyweight title in the 13th edition of the ProAm boxing card at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall (CASH) Friday evening last. Instead, he wound up battling Leon ‘The Lion’ Gilkes after a technicality ruled out the former world contender from the equation. In the end, Jones dished out a first clash pounding to Gilkes and was subsequently declared ‘winner and new champion’ after ‘The Lion,’ stripped of his ferocity, was barely able to whimper, much less roar, surrendering the fight after quitting on his stool at the end of the fifth frame.
Cassius Matthews also failed to live up to his pre-fight boasts and two rounds of severe pounding from Simeon ‘Candy man’ Hardy was enough to convince him that he was definitely out of his league. He received a walloping in the second stanza and refused to reenter the fray at the start of the third round of their light/middleweight bout. Eversley Brown also flattered to deceive and dropped a unanimous verdict after turning in a lackluster performance against Edmond DeClou. The women’s catchweight fight between Veronica Blackman and Sharon Ward was a lopsided affair with the latter fighter taking the honours.Eastman, the local middleweight champion, had attempted to move up one division to add the light/heavyweight crown to his vast repertoire. However, the former world light/middleweight contender tipped the scale way below the stipulated weight limit and in keeping with the rules of the international bodies, the Guyana Boxing Board of Control (GBBC) administrators were forced to cancel the bout.
Gilkes, always the reliable substitute, jumped at the offer to replace Eastman but could not have contested for the title after he weighed in above the stipulated light/heavyweight division. Jones, however, could
have contested for the title after coming in within the weight limit. Gilkes subsequently agreed to Friday night’s bout with the understanding that whichever way the fight ended, he would have been guaranteed a rematch, this time for a shot at the title. GBBC officials explained that they were forced to hammer out this deal rather than call off the entire card in order to satisfy the public’s thirst for fistic action.
Meanwhile, despite the late notice, Gilkes turned in a good performance while it lasted and was defeated more from a lack of fitness than anything else.
The stocky Gilkes opened his account with several telling punches to his opponent’s body and head as he aspired to end the bout there and then. Sporting a chiseled physique, Jones would have none of it and countered with several head shots that forced ‘The Lion’ to retreat. Jones continued to relentlessly attack his man but was guilty of over anxiety which caused most of his punches to either fall short of the mark or sail over a crouching Gilkes’ head.
The two fighters attacked each other with venom into the second stanza and Jones edged slightly ahead after slamming a vicious right cross to Gilkes’ head. The latter fighter took it like a man and continued advancing only to be met by a few more salvoes before the bell sounded.
Jones, sporting rippling abdominals, in contrast to his opponent’s chubby midriff, continued to attack Gilkes’ body and head and midway into the fourth round slammed home a vicious one two combination that pushed Gilkes backward. By now, Gilkes began to look like a beaten fighter and the pundits knew that it was only a matter of time before the end came.
Jones was especially merciless in the fifth round and for the first time Gilkes appeared to be a beaten man, backing away to stave off the assault. When the bell sounded to end this round, a tired and fatigued Gilkes trudged to his corner. It was to be the final hoorah since he failed to answer the next bell.
DeClou had little problems convincing the judges that he was better that Brown. He rained punches on his opponent’s hapless body and Brown for all his preflight boasts could find no answer. He spent most of the night backing away and trying to evade an advancing DeClou, all to no avail. The Lindener enjoyed a field day throwing shots at will while Brown remained content to block most of the blows, some with his hands but most with his face. The unanimous verdict rendered by the judges was merely an academic gesture.
Ward weighed in at 169lbs, conceding eleven pounds to Blackman. She was clearly the better boxer despite giving up the advantage in every department, height, reach and weight. The Lindener scoffed at these disadvantages and unleashed a vicious two fisted attack on her opponent. London, who surrendered a lopsided verdict to Mandessa Moses in last month’s edition of the ProAm cards, had earlier proclaimed that she had dreaded, and promised to avert, back to back losses. Ward’s tactics and determination combined to deny her and she will now be forced to rethink strategies to restore her tilting career.
Ward’s dominance was never threatened as she employed superb counterpunching techniques and bullied her way to the eventual win.
The sparse crowd would have obviously gone to the venue in anticipation of witnessing the Eastman/Jones classic. They would have obviously been disappointed by Eastman’s no show. However, in the end, they would have felt somewhat compensated by the action witnessed in the other bouts. The next ProAm card is scheduled for Friday April 29 at the same venue. The participating boxers would be selected soon.