Amsterdam victorious, Allicock outclassed on Day 5

May 06, 2023 Sports

2023 IBA World Boxing Championships…

Kaieteur Sports  – Guyana’s two-member team suffered a mixed bag of fortunes on Day five of the International Boxing Association’s (IBA) 2023 World Boxing Championships, when the event continued yesterday in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Desmond Amsterdam

In the day’s first session, Guyana Boxing Association’s (GBA) 2022 Boxer of the Year, Desmond ‘Dynamite’ Amsterdam, won unanimously against his Bulgarian opponent Kristiyan Nikolov, while Keevin Allicock suffered defeated at the hands of the host nation’s Abdumalik Khalokov, in the second session.

This means Amsterdam has now progressed to the Round-of-16 stage while the journey has ended for Allicock at the Round-of-32 stage.

Fighting out of the red corner in the Elite Men 75-80KG Light Heavyweight Division, Amsterdam reigned supreme with a 3 – 2 split decision against Nikolov, who was stacked with a longer reach and a height advantage.

Keevin Allicock

However, Amsterdam showed more aggression and threw more effective power punches consistently in the final two rounds after clearly conceding the first, to tip the judge’s scale in his favour.

For Allicock, who fought out of the red corner in the Elite Men 54-57kg Featherweight Division, he was up against an Uzbekistani with the full support of the home crowd.

Khalokov was taller with a reach advantage but also more evasive and tactical than Allicock, which showed for the entire three rounds.

The five-judge system ruled 0 – 5 to end Allicock’s campaign after he suffered a questionable point deduction early on and had troubles reading the unorthodox movements of his opponent, which added to his despair.

Meanwhile, Amsterdam’s campaign continues on Tuesday, May 9, as he attempts to qualify for the quarterfinal stage.

The tournament is scheduled to conclude on Sunday, May 14.