If ever there was a boxer who deserved to be honoured for what he experienced in the fight game that boxer would be Clive Atwell.
It was 2015, October 24th to be precise and Atwell was fighting Dexter Gonzales at the Giftland Mall in a 12-round contest for the vacant FECARBOX World Boxing Council’s (WBC) lightweight title.
Then it happened.
Atwell fainted!
The bout was over and Gonzales was declared the winner by an eighth round TKO.
But for Atwell, although that fight had ended, another was just beginning.
It was a fight for his life.
He was stretchered out of the ring and had to have brain surgery, followed by corrective surgery in the USA.
Thankfully, he survived.
Born November 11, 1988, to Lloyd Douglas and Samantha Atwell at Friendship, East Coast Demerara, Clive started his amateur career under the tutelage of the late Donald Allison.
Allison had boxing pedigree. He was a former boxer who had made a name for himself, and who had won a silver medal at the Central American and Caribbean Games.
Allison, who had remigrated from the USA, had opened up a boxing gym at Agricola.
It was at the Ricola Boxing Gym that the young Atwell was to hone his skills.
Atwell’s amateur career is highlighted by his gold medal at the Caribbean Amateur Boxing Association championships in Trinidad in 2006 and his bronze medal finish at the Pan Am Games in Brazil in 2007.
Atwell subsequently turned professional.
In his debut fight on January 29, 2010 he defeated Carlton Skeete over four rounds.
Over the next five years, he racked up a 17 fight professional career with 13 wins (seven kayoes), three defeats and one draw.
That win streak coincided with him teaming up with wily Trainer Lennox `Cappell’ Daniels, who was brought on board after his second fight against Mark Austin at the Cliff Anderson Sports Hall.
That fight ended in a draw and Atwell subsequently reeled off an 11-fight win streak which was only ended by Jhonny Gonzalez in their world title fight.
That bout, for the World Boxing Council’s featherweight title took place on May 24, 2014 at the Centro Internacional Acapulco, in Acapulco, Mexico.
Gonzalez was easily the more experienced fighter entering the bout with 55 wins against just eight losses to Atwell’s 12 wins and one draw.
The fight was to go to the scorecards after a clash of heads and Atwell, who had one point deducted from his score in rounds seven and 10 respectively, due to accidental head butts, lost the fight with the judges’ scorecard showing Gonzalez ahead 98-90, 96-92 and 99-89.
Daniels, who was with Atwell for his world title showdown feels that the deck was stacked against his fighter from the get-go.
“Things were already set up in Mexico,” Daniels told Stabroek Sport,”.. You know how it does go,” he added.
According to Daniels, the fight was stopped after Atwell started to carry the attack to the more experienced Gonzales.
“Atwell started to carry the steam to the man and the referee ended up calling it off. It was not a one-sided affair,” Daniels recalled.
Daniels said prior to the fight people from all over the world had expected his boxer to be knocked out but Atwell surprised everyone.
Daniels, who was in Atwell’s corner when he won all of his titles said Atwell was a disciplined fighter with good knowledge of the fight game.
“He was quiet and easy going all the time,” said Daniels.
Daniels, though, was not in Atwell’s entourage when he travelled to Melbourne, Australia to fight Kye Mc Kenzie.
Atwell lost that fight by a TKO in round 10 of their battle for the Interim PABA super featherweight title.
Daniels feels that his fighter might have been seriously injured during that fight as he had to be hospitalized afterwards.
“I think that is when the injury occurred. When he came back here I was clueless. I Thought it was a foot injury,” he declared.
Apart from that, Daniels said himself and Atwell had no problems whatsoever.
A win over Jamaican Sakima Mullings on February 21, 2015, for the vacant super lightweight CABOFE WBC title proved to be a false dawn as Atwell very nearly lost his life in his very next fight to Gonzalez and was forced to end what was then a promising career.
Throughout his career Daniels led Atwell to many titles.
The first was the vacant Guyana featherweight title which he won by defeating Rudolph Fraser in round two on June 29, 2012.
He then added the Guyana lightweight title on July 27, 2012 with a knockout victory over Revlon Luke.
On October 26, 2012 he won the vacant WBC Cabofe super lightweight title, knocking out Prince Lee Isidore of Trinidad in the 12th round.
Clive Atwell fought the best in the world and nearly lost his life in the ring in the process and for his bravery, his courage to fight the good fight, Stabroek Sports inducts him into their Boxing’s Hall of Fame.
