By Marlon Munroe
Republican Gym’s fighter Nankumar Singh feels cheated and is eager to fight GDF boxer and junior Commonwealth Games silver medalist Clevlon Rock a third time to settle the score.
Singh feels that the only way a decision will go in his favour is if he knocks Rock out since he believes that he won their three-round encounter on Friday night in the fifth installment of the GBBC/GABA Friday Night Fights at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
Singh told Stabroek Sport “I want he again because I don’t like how they [judges] robbing me”.
Singh maintained after their three-round encounter that he had won their first bout at the ‘Deadly Encounters’ fight card on June 5 at the Princess Hotel. He thinks Rock was given the win on both occasions because he is on the national team for the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games which is scheduled for Puerto Rico next month.
On the other hand, Rock emphasised that his better technique resulted in his win and said many times Singh was rushing and not landing cleanly.
From the toll of the first bell for the lightweight contest Rock was his normal elusive self and interchanged his fight stance to suit the situation: sticking his jabs, doubling up with his power shots and moving, a strategy he used when he won his Commonwealth Games silver medal and could be the basis for winning a gold medal at the upcoming CAC championships.
Singh on the other hand threw punches in bunches with many not connecting cleanly, especially since most of the time he was unbalanced.
Rock was systematic as he racked up his points. However, a few times Singh forced him into a brawl, which was Singh’s comfort zone. In these exchanges Singh worked the body and upstairs while Rock concentrated on the midsection and this slowed Singh down considerably.
In the end the judges scored the contest 3-0 in favour of Rock. Rock pointed out that the fight allowed him and his coaches to measure how much more work needs to be done before the CAC championships.
He said that he was satisfied with his performance and he will be looking to peak by the time the games roll around.
The three other CAC boxers Herlando Allicock, Dexter Jordon and Bert Braithwaite also recorded easy victories over Daneshwar Narine, Ryan Alli and George Anthony. Allicock and Johnson said that they have been working hard with their coaches ahead of the tournament and they support their teammates whenever they step into the ring.
They expressed confidence ahead of the CAC Games stating that they employed what was taught to them in the gym in the fights. The two described the coaching as a winning formula for the upcoming championships and said they intend to make Guyana proud.
In the professional segment of the card there were three unanimous decisions and a no-contest. In the main event Leon ‘The Lion’ Gilkes was back to his losing ways when Anthony Augustin out-punched and out-hustled him in their heavyweight contest.
Gilkes, who fights with an orthodox stance, came out in the first round and looked purposeful sticking his left jab and following up with his powerful right hand. Southpaw Augustin looked at sea in the first frame but all of that changed in the second until the end of the fight in the fourth.
Augustin landed at will as Gilkes was content with throwing an occasional punch. The flat-footed boxers also started to lose condition after the second but Augustin still managed to land the more telling blows until Gilkes connected with a solid right uppercut that saw sweat spilling and which brought the crowd back to life.
In the fourth frame Augustin increased his lead on the judges’ scorecard when he closed out with a flurry of punches to the midsection and the head.
Another entertaining contest was between Mandessa Moses and veteran Margaret ‘Chico’ Walcott, whose record continues to look abysmal. The one-sided affair was controlled by the younger Moses, who pounded Walcott from rounds one to four.
Mark Austin gained a unanimous decision over Cecil Smith and Orlon ‘Pocket Rocket’ Rogers and Wilmut Hutson’s fight ended after an accidental head butt to Hutson’s nose in the third round. Ringside doctor Dr. Laxa discontinued the fight after blood gushed from the nose of Hutson.
Rogers was leading the fight on all the judges’ card when there was the clash of heads.
