‘Lights Out’ into Contender finale Weary Davis hangs tough for victory over ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman
BY HURBUN WILLIAMS
Observer writer
He did not have to knockout his opponent to be victorious as was anticipated.
However, a very tired-looking Tsetsi ‘Lights Out’ Davis had to survive the final two rounds of an eight-round semi-final encounter to earn a unanimous decision against Howard ‘Battersea Bomber’ Eastman to reach the final of the 2014 Wray & Nephew Contender series at the Wray & Nephew Coliseum on Water Lane in downtown Kingston of Wednesday night.
Davis was reaching consecutive Wray & Nephew Contender Boxing series finals in two different weight categories. But for his latest achievement, he had to be on his bicycle from the sixth round of the bruising yet entertaining encounter to escape the late bombardment from the ‘Battersea Bomber’.
Davis was reaching consecutive Wray & Nephew Contender Boxing series finals in two different weight categories. But for his latest achievement, he had to be on his bicycle from the sixth round of the bruising yet entertaining encounter to escape the late bombardment from the ‘Battersea Bomber’.
Nonetheless, Davis had piled up sufficient points in the earlier rounds to get the nod over Eastman from all three judges of Keith Brown, Clifford Brown and Lindel Iron.
Those of us who may remember the aging ‘Mongoose’ Archie Moore and his dogged stance in the ring, would easily and with good reason liken the performance of Eastman to a vintage Moore.
It would seem that out of sheer tiredness after a brief exchange with Eastman, Davis went to ground and was on all four looking really winded but it was not ruled a knock down by referee Ransford Burton.
This slip to the canvas by Davis seemed at the time a blessing in disguise as the short respite gained after handlers were called in to mop the area on which he fell looked surely to have helped him escape a knockout from the rampaging Eastman during his best round of the fight.
Davis recovered to finish on his legs and declared the eventual winner.
However, when ring announcer Oliver Hardie called the decision in favour of Davis, and rightly so, it did not meet favour with Eastman whose comments during an after-fight interview was deemed to be in very poor taste and the interview was cut short.
Davis, on the other hand, was very elated by his success and had high praises for the judges this time around.
“We boxer when we loose a fight we always we never loose. How can you tell for sure who win when you thumping me, and I thumping you, how you know you throw more thumps than me? (We should) leave it up to the judges and the referee who had clean eyes tonight and them do a good job,” he said.
Meanwhile, former champion Donovan ‘Police’ Campbell will meet Sakima Mullings in the other semi-final showdown next Wednesday at the same venue.
Tsetsi Davis (back to camera) about to unleash a left uppercut to body of Howard Eastman during Wednesday’s Wray & Nephew Contender Boxing series semi-finals at the Wray & Nephew Coliseum on Water Lane in downtown Kingston. (PHOTOS: HURBUN WILLIAMS)
