Guyana’s Gardel ‘The Judge’ Roberts lost via split decision to Jamaican Romel ‘Sub Zero’ Lewis in the fourth bout of this season’s Wray and Nephew Caribbean Contender Series on Wednesday night in Jamaica.
In front of the pro-Jamaican crowd at the Chinese Benevolent Centre on Hope Road in Kingston, Lewis got the judges’ nod in the six-round contest and moved one step closer to pocketing the J$2 million purse that is up for grabs in the welterweight tournament.
The score cards read 58-56 x 2 for Lewis and 58-56 for Roberts.
This marked the third defeat of a local boxer at the hands of a Jamaican. In the first bout of the tournament, Revlon Lake was stopped in the fourth round by Sakima Mullings while Gladwin ‘Tiger’ Dorway lost via split decision to Richard ‘Frog’ Holmes two weeks ago.
Last week, in the third fight of the series, Barbadian, Shaka Henry defeated Jamaican, Glenroy ‘Bumpy’ Beckford.
The 16 boxers (eight from Jamaica and eight from Guyana, Trinidad and Barbados) started competing for a share of J$3 million in prize money, with the winner of the Wray & Nephew Contender walking away with an appetizing J$2 million.
The runner-up will pocket J$500,000 with third place J$250,000 and fourth place J$200,000.
The fighters have been split into two teams, the Jamaican Green Team and the Yellow Team of the rest of the Caribbean.
Jamaica is represented by Mullings, second winner of the Contender Boxing Series, last year’s runner-up Tsetsi Davis, 2012 winner Donovan ‘Police’
Campbell, Kevin ‘Bus Boy’ Hilton, Lewis, Holmes, Derrick ‘Guts’ Spencer and Beckford.
The yellow team comprises seven boxers from Guyana, Trinidad and Barbados and one from Jamaica, Anthony Osbourne.
Along with Lake, Dorway and Roberts, Guyana’s representatives are Derrick ‘Dangerous’ Richmond and Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman
The Jamaica Team is led by Coach Carl Grant and the Caribbean team by Coach Andrew Boland. Action in the Caribbean Contender continues next Wednesday at the same venue.
