Antiguans deliver on fight night

The Antiguans didn’t come to play. They proved to be the dominant force in the ring during the 17th Horace Phillips Memorial Boxing Tournament by winning four bouts at The St Michael School Auditorium on Saturday night.

Joshua Toussaint’s powerful right hook was the weapon which led referee Jason Cadogan to stop the contest against Nyron Cyrus of Grenada in the second round of a lightweight youth bout, giving the Antiguan the victory.

From the starting bell, Toussaint chased Cyrus, throwing punches at him with full force. Early in the second round, he took a right hook which caused his knees to buckle and the referee to administer a standing eight count.

When the fight resumed, Toussaint once again bombarded his opponent, delivering another right hook blow for the Grenadian’s second standing count before the competition was discontinued.

Joshua’s boxing talent must run in the family since his brother Jeremiah also meant business when he defeated Barbados’ Rashawn Holder on points for the judges’ unanimous decision.

The bout began quite even but as it played out, Holder lost his control while Jeremiah scored with the crisper and steady punches, showing a higher level of technical skill.

Amor Payne of Antigua was without a doubt the better boxer and captured the youth middleweight 75 kg bout, winning against Dario Cheeseman of Barbados when the referee brought the contest to a halt in the third round.

He fought behind his left jab and followed with a right hook, forcing the Barbadian back, resulting in him taking a standing eight count.

As the bout progressed, the Antiguan continued to dominate, piling on the pressure which led to another standing eight count which caused the referee to stop the contest.

Antigua’s Uriah Desilver also took home a trophy in the senior light 60 kg division when he set back Derek Hynam of Barbados on points.

Barbados’ Tyree Weekes-Haynes was the only Barbadian to win a bout against a non-national on the evening which commemorated the Barbados Boxing Association’s 40th anniversary.

From the red corner, he derailed Andy Norden of Martinique with a unanimous decision though it appeared fairly even throughout.

Weekes-Haynes threw more scoring punches although he took a standing eight count in round two.

In a showdown between Barbados’ Peter Murray of the National Gym and Lemar Tull of Shaka’s Gym, Murray  was not only the more aggressive of the two but he also threw the more effective punches which eventually resulted in Tull being served two standing eight counts in the third round and Murray winning the contest. (RG)