The spectators in the mining town of Linden were left calling for ‘Moore’ after witnessing Guyana’s WBC Caribbean Boxing Federation (CABOFE) and NABA bantamweight champion Leon ‘Hurry-up’ Moore, put on a tactical display of boxing to beat Mark Murray with a third round TKO when Holland’s Entertainment staged their Foreign Invasion 2 card at the McKenzie Sports Club ground on Saturday.
Moore won the hearts of the large crowd at the venue from the sound of the bell in the first round with his vintage but yet entertaining style of boxing.
Murray who is known to be a tough contender, could not of keep up with the swiftness and speed of Moore. But just like his name, the champion ‘hurried’ things up just as he said he would, and the short and stiff jabs took a toll on Murray since in one minute 55 seconds of round three, he sustained a nasty cut over the left eye.
The ringside doctor was called in after the referee saw that blood was gushing from the wound and he called the fight to a halt and rewarded Moore with a much deserved win. This propelled his record to 25 fights with 23 wins, 21 of which came by way of knock-outs, and two losses.
Meanwhile, the much talked about ‘Big Bad Man’ clash between Fahaad the ‘Linden Giant’ Ali and ‘Big Bad’ Shawn Harris of Georgetown, ended in a draw, even though spectators believed that the fight belonged to Harris.
Harris was obviously the aggressor while Ali was the powerhouse. However his opponent looked much like a true boxer, working the combinations and as such, Ali settled for the big punches.
But Harris had collected some of the big punches from Ali in the first two of their four-round bout and maybe that dented his chances of winning.
The ringside was filled with spectators who were amazed at the size of the two men, whose combined weight came to well over 700 pounds.
When the decision was announced at the end, the crowd expressed their disappointment and called for a rematch.
In the other two fights on the card, Avlon Scotland suffered her second
defeat in as many fights when she lost by a unanimous decision in front of her home crowd to Georgetown’s Ali Marques in their four-round Catchweight bout.
National heavyweight Champion Mitchell Rogers finally stepped into the ring after winning the title in 2007 and his opponent Clyde Williams felt the fury of his fist.
The crowd made ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ sounds as Rogers landed some vicious and powerful punches, and not wanting to be put away for good, Williams refused to come out when the bell was sounded to begin the next round and the cry was that Rogers was hitting too hard.
Promoter Carwyn Holland said that the he was pleased with the response from the people of Linden to the card, which signified that the people were starved for boxing and the entertainment it brings.
He said that he was a bit disappointed with the Heavyweight contest, where the fighter refused to come out for the second round and he has made an official complaint to the Guyana Boxing Board of Control to look into the fight.
Nevertheless, Holland said that the ‘Big Bad Man’ clash between Ali and Harris was all that he expected and more, and with the fight ending in a draw, there will certainly be a rematch.
