Moncriffe, Whyte clash in Contender bout
Devon Moncriffe, saddled with the unenviable task to ensure Team Jamaica advances to the second round of the Wray & Nephew White Overproof Rum Contender Boxing Series with a lead, will clash in a pivotal match against Team Canada’s Larone Whyte tonight at Chinese Benevolent Association auditorium.
A three-fight card is on offer with one of two amateur bouts scheduled to open the programme at 8:30 pm.Another rib-tickling floor show will follow the amateur segment with the showing of selected video clips of previous fights along with a priming introduction of the two main event boxers on the card. The main attraction is set to rumble at approximately 10:00 pm.Team Jamaica and Team Canada, at present, are locked at three wins each going into the penultimate fight of eight at the first of a four-stage championship showdown of 16 fighters. The major prize on offer is a share of a $3,000,000 Jamaican dollars purse and the title of Jamaica’s Ultimate Junior Middleweight Contender.Moncriffe, one of two former winners of the Contender title fighting this year, will enter the ring as the fourth seed of Team Jamaica with a ring record of 12 wins against six losses from 18 fights. The other former winner is Sakima Mullings.Moncriffe won the Contender title in 2013 and will be up against the unseeded Whyte, who is undefeated in two professional fights. Whyte won both his fights by the TKO route. The Canadian got rid of Marko Szalai in two rounds on debut in 2014. He returned one year later to also TKO Isaiah Robinson but has not fought since.Whyte, however, is expected to be in good competitive shape on his debut Contender clash against the more experienced 40-year-old Moncriffe over five rounds. The 27-year-old Whyte has an amateur ring record of two wins against two defeats.—Hurbun Williams