Amateur punch fest rocks at Wray & Nephew Contender Series
Wray & Nephew Contender spectators got a real “bellyful” on fight night four, with Devon “Concrete” Moncriffe satisfying the home crowd with a masterful performance; then amateurs Marvin Shirley and Lethan Stephenson literally had them eating out of their hands.
Added to the opening bout between the Jamaica Defence Force’s Marvin Shae and Samuel Grant, boxers gave fans full worth for every cent spent at the gate at fight headquarters, Chinese Benevolent Association on Old Hope Road in Kingston.
From first bell, the diminutive Shae began stalking Grant in methodical fashion and went on to secure a distinct advantage. However, it was not one-way traffic as Grant, the bigger man, made his presence felt with some shots of his own.
This forced Shae to back up a bit in round two, when he took some tough blows and delivered some of his own. Still, Shae held the advantage going into round three.
For a fleeting moment, Grant appeared to have got a huge slice of luck and the result he needed to turn the fight, when he caught Shae as he slipped. Shae took the standing eight count and responded convincingly, peppering Grant with a barrage of unanswered punches, eventually forcing the referee to end the fight at two minutes, 41 seconds.
That whet the appetite, setting the stage for what was to come in the second amateur bout, the most competitive and best fight of Wray & Nephew Contender Season 8.
Shirley and Stephenson were standing toe-to-toe at the start. Well believe, they were that close for the entire three rounds, as neither gave any quarter in a brutal punch-swapping spectacle, bringing the crowd to its feet in loud cheer while landing some very hefty blows.
In the ebb and flow, Stephenson rocked Shirley early with a body shot that sent him backwards onto the ropes. However, there was no one-two follow-up, allowing Shirley to rally and score with some huge punches.
The big fellows continued their slugfest in the third, blasting each other with bombs that would have floored any ordinary challenger. But this was no ordinary fight and determinedly each recovered with a forward move after being sent backwards by a big punch. In the end, both stood tall, evoking deafening chants of “we want more, we want more” from the very appreciative crowd. Shirley, who had a better percentage hits, won.
Then came the big one. Fans were left somewhat disappointed the previous week when Ramel “Sub Zero” Lewis suffered a spectacular second-round knock down against Waseem El Sinawi. This time, they were looking for a vengeance through former Wray & Nephew Contender champion, “Concrete” Moncriffe.
From the opening bell, the Jamaican went to work against Tyler Wilson, working his body with some crunching blows. The crowd was on its feet with Wilson looking likely to lose his at any point.
Clearly outclassed, the Canadian was totally at sea as the wily Moncriffe systematically wore him down with a mixture of punches to the head and body. If anything, the tough Wilson may have earned some credit for lasting as long as the fourth round. Yet, he took some beating before the fight was predictably waved off, with the crowd cheering wildly.
They could not have asked for more, not from that and the other two bouts on fight night four’s punch fest.
“The jab, the jab work out good,” said Moncriffe. “I was going to his body with my right hand alone … and I said ‘Moncriffe, you’re trying to go too fast, so relax yourself and work with the jab and then throw the right hand’.
“I feel good about it. Because of how I prepared it would’ve been a round five knockout same way. I trained so hard, it’s the first time I’ve trained so hard. Because I’m not so young I had to put in a lot of work,” added the 41-year-old.
The Wray & Nephew Contender 2018 continues tomorrow with highly rated Jamaican Michael “Wasp” Gardner facing Canada’s Jay Kelly in the feature bout.
Action will be broadcast live on TVJ, beginning at 9:30 pm.