Derby lifts spirits on Wray & Nephew Fight Night
Amateur middleweight boxer Ian Derby confirmed his improving status with a sound, unanimous points decision over the rugged Guyanese Desmond Amsterdam at Alpart Sports Club in St Elizabeth on Saturday night.
Derby’s win gave Jamaica a well-earned leveller against Guyana on the four-fight amateur card in the Wray & Nephew Fight Night Boxing Series
Jamaica won the first and last fights on the night, while Guyana won the second and third.
The amateur segment was the main entertainment package of the night, and it lived up to expectation. There was non-stop action from the opening bell to the very end.
Marvin Shea overcame Clairmont Gibson of Guyana for a majority decision in the first of the three-round fights to allow Jamaica to jump out in front.
Both fighters gave as much as they received, and to the naked eye the result could have gone either way. It set the tone for what was to follow.
In the second fight, Ricardo Carter, one of Jamaica’s most accomplished lightweight prospects, took to the ring against Guyana’s Joel Williamson. The first round looked promising as both fighters looked keen heading into the second. But Carter began to look a bit jaded and was surprisingly knocked off his feet to go down via the technical knockout route.
In the third fight, the promising junior welterweight Patrick Sahadeo from the Jamaica Defence Force Gym was expected to give Jamaica the lead in the clash with the gangly Colin Lewis. But Sahadeo was outclassed.
He appeared to be not prepared to deal with the long reach of his opponent, and thus failed to withstand the barrages from Lewis and was outgunned in a majority decision.
In came Derby, the St Thomas Gym boxer who had to win his fight to salvage a share of the laurels following two unexpected losses.
He responded well with good glove work and adequately weighted punches to keep his bloody-nosed opponent apprehensive.
It was a night where the amateurs stole the spotlight, though not entirely, as Miguel “Iron Dog” Ray brought the house down to its knees against Kestna Davis in their main event clash over six rounds. Davis, as was expected, won by an overwhelming majority on all the three judges’ scorecards. It was a highly entertaining bout highlighted by the antics of “Iron Dog”.
Ransford Burton scored the bout 60-55, Eion Jardine scored it 60-54, while Lindell Allen had it 60-50.
Meanwhile, in the preliminary pro bout, Toriano Nicholas defeated Daron Weir by majority decision. All three judges scored 60-54.